Volunteers played big part in Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Photos by Ginny Kropf: A group of students from Brockport Cheer Club volunteered at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday at State Street Park in Medina. The students cheered on the participants as they finished the 2-mile walk.

MEDINA – The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Orleans County took place Saturday, starting and ending in State Street Park in Medina.

Donna Bushover places a flower in memory of her mother Izara Bauer in the Promise Garden which was part of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Saturday in State Street Park.

Prior to the walk, emcee Randy Bushover welcomed the crowd and shared facts relating to Alzheimer’s. A poignant feature of the event is the Promise Garden, in which loved ones plant a flower they have purchased to support the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

Flowers come in assorted colors, which each representing a different stage of the dreaded disease. A blue flower is carried by individuals currently living with the disease. A purple flower means they have lost someone to Alzheimer’s. Yellow means they are supporting or caring for some with Alzheimer’s. An orange flower signifies that person is supporting the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.

The white flower represents the hope for a future without Alzheimer’s disease. It is the symbol of the first person to survive Alzheimer’s.

Another feature of the day is the annual basket raffle sponsored by Mary Lou Tuohey, who lost both her parents to Alzheimer’s. When she owned Case-Nic Cookies, she displayed the baskets in her store window, and new owner Hans Rosentreter is continuing that. This year, tables were set up in front of the store with pictures of each numbered basket, to allow last minute supporters and walk/run participants to stop during their route to buy tickets.

Mary Lou’s daughter Nicole also continued her annual effort of making elephant links to join together and stretch down the block of Main Street. On Saturday, they were strung out on the lawn of State Street Park.

It takes a lot of volunteers to make the event successful, and this year they were fortunate to have students from Brockport State College come to help. The students in the Brockport Cheer Club attends sports and other community events, including Camp Good Days.

DJ Tom Shuh of Cheektowaga played music throughout the morning.

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Medina raised at least $12,000.

Volunteers put up props for the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday.