2009 Memory Walk

Twenty years ago people gathered in Portland to walk for a cause. Now, 20 years later, people are still coming together throughout Maine to be a part of the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk.

On Sept. 25, Bangor will host one of the 13 Memory Walks in the state this year. The three mile walk starts at the Bangor Raceway at Bass Park and continues through nearby residential areas. Sarah Stepp, the Maine chapter’s manager of development and special events said, “It’s not a competitive walk. People can go at their own pace. They can take their time with it and do as much or as little of it as they want.” Stepp said they are hoping for 500 participants in Bangor this year compared to the 400 they had last year.

An event unique to Bangor’s Memory Walk is the Pioneer Walk which is for people who have Alzheimer’s and their care partners and families. The Pioneer Walk starts 15 minutes after the main walk when other walkers have left the area. This allows for a more relaxed environment for registration and walking. Stepp said the Bangor Walk Committee started the Pioneer Walk last year because they wanted to have an element of the walk that was more Alzheimer’s friendly and that would encourage participation from people with Alzheimers. “The people who did it last year said it was a really moving experience and they’re looking forward to doing it again this year. It’s something we’re going to try and replicate at some of our other walk sites,” Stepp said.

Participants that raise $50 or more will receive one of the Alzheimer’s Association’s bright purple colored T-shirts. “It’s so cool to see this crowd wearing purple moving down the street and it’s a great attention getter for the organization,” Stepp said. This year in honor of the 20th Anniversary, those who raise $100 or more may get a special edition 20th Anniversary T-shirt; however, there are a limited number and they will be given on a first come first serve basis. The money raised at the Memory Walk goes to the Alzheimer’s Association to support Alzheimer care, support and research.

The goal for the Bangor Walk is to raise $55,000, and as of the end of August $20,000 had been raised. To help participants fundraise, the Alzheimer’s Association has created a tool on their Web Site where those registered for the event can create a personal fundraising web page where friends and family can make donations. Also to ease the fundraising process, the Association allows registrants to add a button to their Facebook page advertising the walk and routing friends to the fundraising Web Site to donate.

This year Stepp said the Maine Chapter is hoping to have 2,000 participants and to raise $350,000 statewide from sponsorships and personal contributions. “There’s no registration fee but this is our largest and most important fundraiser so we encourage everyone who participates to either contribute something personally or to raise the money,” Stepp said.

Register at www.alz.org/memorywalk. Registration at the event starts at 8am and the Memory Walk starts at 9am.