Annual Space Coast Walk to End Alzheimer’s Raises More Than $64,000 to Support Care, Support and Research Programs

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in both the United States and Florida

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – Hundreds of area residents participated in this year’s Space Coast Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants walked as individuals and small groups on sidewalks, tracks, and trails across Florida’s Space Coast, raising more than $64,000 to support the care, support, and research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“I’m so thankful to the beautiful people of the Space Coast for a wonderful Walk day,” said Amanda Harris, director of the Space Coast Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

“While it wasn’t what we were expecting this year, they all made it their own and I had no doubt they would. Seeing the community come together is what inspires me and so many others who are fighting this disease.”

Team UFFDA (United Family Fighting Dementia and Alzheimer’s) was this year’s top fundraising team, raising a total of $10,263 for the cause.

Pamela Nystrom led the team in individual fundraising with $2,500 raised in honor of both her mother and grandmother.

“The genetic history is strong in my family,” Nystrom said.

“My grandmother had Alzheimer’s back in the late ’90s, and then my mother was diagnosed in 2013. I fight for myself, my brothers, and I fight for the people who don’t know a thing about this horrible disease.”

Although the format of the Walk was different from years past in that there was no large gathering, traditional components of the event were upheld, including an Opening Ceremony broadcast, as well as a drive-through Promise Garden planted at Hibiscus Court in Melbourne to honor the personal reasons participants walk.

For participant Mary Faller, that reason is her mother, Patty, who lost her battle with dementia in February.

“My mother was a teacher, both professionally and personally,” Faller said.

“She was beautiful, kind and generous but had to endure the cruelty of dementia. It is a complete tragedy that she couldn’t live out all of her years with her dignity and mind intact. Alzheimer’s strips these things away like an onion until there is nothing left but tears.”

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in both the United States and Florida.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are more than 580,000 Floridians currently battling the disease, with an additional 1.1 million family members and friends providing them with daily, unpaid care.

Fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s – the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research – will continue through Dec. 31.

To donate and join the fight for a cure, visit www.alz.org/walk.

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research.

Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.

Similar Stories