Walk to End Alzheimer's Set for Oct. 4th

The Southeastern Illinois Alzheimer's Association will hold their seventh annual Walk to End Alzheimer's fund raising event on Saturday, Oct. 4.

The walk will be held at Taylor Field in Harrisburg and the funds raised will all go to local Alzheimer's support and research groups. The Southeastern Illinois Alzheimer's Association is affiliated with the national Alzheimer's Association which has a local office in Carbondale.

Janice Aldridge, one of the event organizers related some frighting facts about how prevalent Alzheimer's is among the senior population.

"In 2013, there were some 5 million seniors living with Alzheimer's," Aldridge stated. "1 in 3 seniors die as a result of the effects disease and two thirds of Alzheimer's victims are women."

Saturdays event has seen concerned citizens form teams and solicit donations for the association. The event will be targeted at four laps or 1 mile but Aldridge said everyone is welcome, whether to walk or just come out to show support for the cause. Registration is at 9 a.m. a opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and the walk to start at 10 a.m.

This years speaker will be Dr. Frank Schneider, an Alzheimer's victim who was an instructor at Southeastern Illinois College before being afflicted by this terrible malady.

Further questions can be directed to Janice Aldridge at 618-841-4210. The Alzheimer's Association has a 24 hour help line at 1-800-272-3900 and has a web site at www.alz.org.