Whether rain or shine, hundreds of people gather together to support the walk to end Alzheimer’s. This past Saturday saw sunshine and good weather as the Alzheimer’s Association organized the eighth annual walk at Zoo Knoxville.

The Alzheimer’s Association is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to end Alzheimer’s and all other types of dementia. The organization works to provide support to the families and caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients.

They also focus on researching ways to detect Alzheimer’s early and hopefully one day find a cure. The Alzheimer’s Association operates not just in Tennessee but also across all 50 states. Sara Dickson, senior development manager with the association, spoke to the scale of the group’s impact.

“We are the largest nonprofit funder for Alzheimer’s research and all other dementia,” Dickson said. “It is really impactful to be in the communities because people invest so much of their time, volunteerism and money. The communities see how much progress is being made as far as new treatments and research that is happening. It’s a new era of hope, a new era of treatment. I feel like I am going to see a cure in my lifetime.”

The annual walk at the zoo is just one of 600 walks happening across the nation. There was a strong turnout at this event. People came with their families, as individuals and with their employers. Others even traveled from other states to participate in the walk. No matter if this was a participant’s first time walking at the zoo or the eighth time, everyone came out to show their support.

“Unfortunately, my family has a long history with Alzheimer’s,” Lindsey Raymond Gonzalez said. “We’ve been involved with the walks in Florida for about 10 years. We just moved here to Tennessee and got involved immediately. It was cool to be at the zoo. We never had a unique location like this.”

Some of the organizations present were UT’s Sigma Kappa, the Garza Law Firm, NHC Healthcare, Edward Jones and many more.

Kali Perez, a senior political science major and Sigma Kappa member, explained her organization’s involvement.

“We are volunteering as a chapter for the event,” Perez said. “Our philanthropy is Alzheimer’s and raising awareness. As a chapter nationally, we partner with the Alzheimer’s Association.”

There were also many local schools that came out to volunteer and support the association. One of the schools that came was West High School’s International Baccalaureate students led by the IB coordinator, Shari Valencic.

“All students who are a part of our program have a service requirement as part of the stipulations to earning their diploma or certificate in their program,” Valencic said. “This has been our second annual event that we have done.”

The Alzheimer’s Association has many opportunities to get involved, ranging from volunteers to committee members who help bring these events to life.

“I got started with the organization in 2018,” Richelle Ballenger, volunteer and event photographer, said. “I have loved being able to be a volunteer. I am one of those people who throws myself into everything I do. I love that I found an organization that has such a great local representation.”

The association works tirelessly throughout the year to raise money for the cause. This year the event raised more than $225,000 to go towards helping families and caregivers, and towards doing research to cure Alzheimer’s.

There are many other events that take place throughout the year. Some large events include painting the town purple, Ale Trail and other various community events. People can go to the Alzheimer’s Association website to check out upcoming events.

“We are very much a volunteer lead,” Dickson said. “It’s really a great way to get the community engaged in the conversation and education themselves. I am proud of the fact that we are volunteer-led.”