The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the Alzheimer’s Association’s largest annual event, battling the incurable disease by funding cutting-edge research. This year, the association’s Long Island Chapter is coming back to East Meadow’s Eisenhower Park on Oct. 4.
On the day of the walk, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony by carrying flowers of various colors representing their personal connection to the disease.
Tinamarie Hardekopf is the chapter’s director of development, as well as the director for walks in Babylon, Eisenhower Park and Fire Island.
“We definitely grow every year, in numbers of attendees and as well as fundraising,” she said. “It’s really important for people to come out because it gives them an opportunity to show their support for a world without Alzheimer’s — they can also memorialize a loved one they’ve lost, or they can support someone that they’re caring for at this time.”
The Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter provides a community and support system for people with Alzheimer’s, their families, friends, and caretakers, while raising awareness of the importance of brain health.
“We consider our walks the largest support group,” Hardekopf said, “Everyone comes together and they each carry a flower that shows their connection to the disease.”
Tanya Eldemeyer, a resident of Rockville Center, is an advocate of the association. Her father passed away last year due to dementia, but she still stands as a bastion in this community.
“I basically was his sole caregiver,” she said. “It was such a difficult road… There are people out there that are in the same situation, and I felt like this was a way that I could continue my dad’s legacy and help those that may not have someone fighting and advocating for them.”
Eldemeyer will be receiving a purple flower during the Promise Garden ceremony, which symbolizes losing a loved one to the disease.
There are 426,500 people in New York aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s Dementia, and over 7 million across the country, according to the Long Island Chapter. While symptoms become severe later in life, the brain changes that cause Alzheimer’s can begin decades before symptoms start. This period of time is a critical opportunity for people at risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia to reduce the risk of the disease and catch its symptoms as early as possible.
Ed Miller, the vice chair for the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter Board of Directors, played a leading role in making the past three year’s walk a success in Nassau County. He joined the Long Island chapter after his father was diagnosed with dementia in 2019. He and his family faced challenges in providing the care an individual with dementia requires, so he began to participate in fundraisers like the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s researchers have made significant progress in early intervention treatments that improve the quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients and caretakers.
“There’s been a lot of breakthroughs that have come out in the news over the course of the last couple of years,” Miller said in a prior conversation with the Herald. “These are treatments that aren’t going to eradicate the disease at this point, but they are treatments, and there is hope.”
So far, the chapter has raised $289,000 out of their $385,000 goal — 75 percent of the way.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s will happen on Oct. 4 at Eisenhower Park Field 6 and 6A at 9:00 a.m. For more information on the walk and Long Island events, visit act.ALZ.org/Nassau.
