Kickoff event for Memory Walk draws 40 people

About 40 people showed up Saturday for the first Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk kickoff celebration at Lazy L Safari Park in Cape Girardeau.

The kickoff, a new event in the Southeast region, served as a way to create awareness about Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts around 9,600 people in Southeast Missouri, said Teresa Birk, outreach coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association in the Southeast Missouri region.

"The kickoff serves as a way to engage teams with family-friendly activities and also to see what other teams are doing to raise money," Birk said.

Between now and the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk on Sept. 18, participating teams will find their own ways to raise money and awareness about Alzheimer's.

Birk said some of the ways teams raise money are through cook-outs, selling T-shirts and "Family Fun Days," which include a barbecue and games.

So far, 25 teams are registered in the Cape Girardeau area. Birk said the easiest way to register is by visiting the Alzheimer's Association website, www.alz.org, and clicking on the "Memory Walk" tab.

Birk said teams can be any size and that many teams walk in honor or memory of someone they know. There is no cutoff date for registration.

"People can also show up the day of the event and participate," Birk said. "You don't have to be part of a team to walk."