On a sunny Saturday morning on Oct. 5, at the University of Northern Colorado’s Garden Theater, over 400 residents of Greeley came together as a community to show support and raise donations for the Alzheimer’s Association.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s event has been celebrated annually since 1989. With over 600 communities nationwide, the walk is the largest fundraiser in the world For Alzheimer’s care, support and research. There are three steps to participating: register for a walk in a nearby community, spread the word and finally show up on walk-day for an inspiring event.
All the proceeds from the event go to advancing the mission of the Alzheimer’s Association, a voluntary health organization founded in 1980. The organization’s website states that it “addresses this crisis by providing education and support to the millions who face dementia every day, while advancing critical research toward methods of treatment, prevention and, ultimately, a cure.”
This year, the walk aims to raise $99,400 for Alzheimer’s research, support services and advocacy efforts. Last year’s event raised funds directly supporting local programs such as caregiver workshops and helplines.
Dementia is a neurological disease that causes the loss of cognitive functioning, usually to such an extent that it interferes or completely halts a person’s daily life and activities. Worldwide, over 55 million people are living with dementia, with more than seven million in the United States alone. While the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a fundraising event, it is also designed to bring awareness to the disease.
The event began at 9 a.m. at UNC’s Garden Theater, with the ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. and the walk immediately following. This is the first time that the event has been held on UNC campus. In 2023, the march was centered around Bittersweet Park.
Jessica Stratton, Development Manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Colorado Chapter, said that the decision to move the march was to make it more connected to the Greeley community.
“I felt like this event needed to be at more of a center of the community,” Stratton said. “And when we look at Greeley and what I would consider the heartbeat of Greeley, I think of UNC.”
Many businesses and organizations attended and showed their support: Coffee from Dutch Bros, snacks and water from the Sigma Kappa sorority and Promise Garden flowers were just some of the donations for participants.
A Promise Garden is a mission-focused experience that allows participants to wear flowers representing their promise to remember, honor, care and fight for those living with Alzheimer’s disease: blue flowers represent those currently living with Alzheimer’s, yellow for those caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, purple for those who have lost someone to the disease and orange for those who support the Alzheimer’s Association vision of a world without Alzheimer’s or dementia.
The colorful flowers made for a vividly-colored march, which was a half-mile loop around UNC’s central campus. The sea of flowers flooded Eighth Ave., and many people passing by asked to learn more about the event and the cause for it.
Stratton said that the event could not have been possible without the help of the numerous participants, donors, committee members and volunteers.
“I really love working with our volunteer committee,” Stratton said. “These walks are really organized and led by volunteers within the community, and I’m just there to make their vision happen.”
“I’ve had a really good time getting to know our committee and learn their stories and connections, and make the event what they want it to be.”
For those who couldn’t attend the event this year, there are still many ways to get involved in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Committee recruitment for 2025 starts in January, along with an annual kickoff concert at the Moxi Theater in the Summer. In addition to these events, the next Walk to End Alzheimer’s event is already booked for Oct. 4, 2025 at the Garden Theater. More information can be found on the Alzheimer’s Association's website.
“I hope that participants take away that we are there to help and support them,” Stratton said. “They’re not alone in their fight with the disease.”
“I hope they also take away that it really does take a whole community to make that happen. We are really close to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, but the reason we’re so close is because communities come together to fundraise and find that cure.”
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