In a few days’ time, I’ll be tying my shoelaces and checking the weather forecast for Alzheimer’s Society’s biggest annual fundraiser.
This year, Memory Walk aims to raise £9million nationally and bring together a total of 110,000 walkers across the generations.
If you’ve not been to a Memory Walk before, I’d like to encourage you to unite against dementia and register for free at memorywalk.org.uk. Dementia devastates lives, but every pound raised through Memory Walk will help Alzheimer’s Society provide vital information and support, improve care, fund research and create lasting change for people affected by the condition.
Each walk sees thousands of people come together to raise money to support people living with dementia and raise funds for research. We always ask people to take a moment to reflect on who they are walking for by leaving a message on the Memory Tree. It’s an emotional moment as the tree blossoms with hundreds of individual stories of local people whose lives have been touched by dementia.
It’s an important reminder of the scale of the dementia crisis. Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes.
We need new treatments for dementia now – there have been none in the last 15 years. We owe it to the 8000 people in Northamptonshire currently living with dementia to understand the condition better, so that they can live better.
We believe that research will beat dementia. Alzheimer’s Society is committed to spending at least £150 million over the next decade on dementia research.
Northamptonshire walkers can joins us at Bedford on 23 September, Leamington Spa on 29 September or Leicester on 30 September.
Alternatively, you might consider organising your own walk in your local area. Your Walk Your Way is a DIY option tailor-made for schools and supporters to go your own way in a great cause by organising a walk. Sign up at memorywalk.org.uk
All three events have a short walk of 2km and a longer walk of 6 – 8km. The shorter walks are suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, whilst the longer walks tend to explore a wider area with slightly more varied terrain.
We also have a walk at Towcester Watermeadows on 23 September, which you can sign up for at Eventbrite by searching for ‘Towcester Memory Walk’.
Let’s hope we get lots of sunshine!
Helen Crawford, Alzheimer’s Society Services Manager in Northamptonshire
