KUKUI GROVE — They could have been refugees from the Halloween celebration, Friday, but they were not. Instead, the chicken headbands worn by the walkers were created by the participants at Wilcox Day Health Care specifically for the Memory Walk
KUKUI GROVE — They could have been refugees from the Halloween celebration, Friday, but they were not.
Instead, the chicken headbands worn by the walkers were created by the participants at Wilcox Day Health Care specifically for the Memory Walk hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association yesterday morning at the Kukui Grove Shopping Center.
Chris Shirai, the chairman of the board of directors of the Aloha Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the Memory Walk is a national walk with many sites on the Mainland and in Hawai‘i.
The Kukui Grove site attracted more than 120 walkers, including several with four feet, who listened as Jill Hedges Ransey, the Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association extended Shirai’s thoughts.
“Every step that is taken and every dollar donated brings our vision of a World Without Alzheimer’s that much closer to reality,” Shirai said.
Currently, there are about 28,000 people in Hawai‘i affected by Alzheimer’s, he added. The walk is designed to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s as well as raising funds that will be used to help find a cure as well as helping those in need now.
Walkers donned special “On the Move” T-shirts designed for the event.
“By participating in the event, we are honoring our loved ones who can no longer remember,” emcee Steve Farrell said.
Donna Schulze said her husband George passed away from Alzheimer’s about 10 months ago and she was walking in his memory.
Hodges said yesterday’s event was bigger than last year’s event, noting that the amount of walkers for this year is more than double of last year’s. She added that the walkers represented 11 teams, several of which came from the county of Kaua‘i.
Among those were teams from the county’s Agency on Elderly Affairs (Memory Keepers) and the Department of Water.
Other teams included the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Future Leaders whose student leaders took time out of the craft fair taking place at their school to be part of the walk.
Creative Memories, Hospice of Kaua‘i, the Kaua‘i Search and Rescue Team and Dogs, the Regency (at Puakea) Roadsters, Wilcox Wanderers, Show Me the Money, Jill Lima’s Team, Kaua‘i Coffee, Weight-Out Team, Central Pacific Bank and Mana ‘Ola, which means hope, rounded out the team showings.
“In addition to having twice as many walkers as last year, we also have a lot of good volunteers for this year’s event,” Hodges said. “Hopefully, we can make about $10,000 which will help the Alzheimer’s Association.”
Students from the Kaua‘i Community College Nursing program acted as route guides, creating a special contest which earned walkers points which they could use to bid on special prizes which were donated by the community.
The donning of the chicken headwear gave wearers an additional two chances to bid, and by filling out a questionnaire by working on clues provided by the KCC students along the route, walkers earned an additional two more bidding opportunities.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association Web site, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. Instead, it is a progressive and fatal disease. It is the most common form of dementia.
Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but drug and non-drug treatments may help with both cognitive and behavioral symptoms as researchers are looking for new treatments to alter the course of the disease and improve the quality of life for people with dementia.
• For more information, visit the Alzheimer’s Association Web site at www.alz.org
