Heritage students, alumni and teachers banded together to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association at Nova Southeastern University Nov. 23. The walk featured booths from sponsors such as Playa Bowl and Memorial Hospital, as well as a live DJ to keep the energy going.
Members from both the Save the Memories club on campus as well as supporters of seventh grader Ali Brooks and her team, “Counter Clockwise: The Sequel,” came together for the walk. “I raised $6,900 individually. The team raised 9,900,” Brooks said. Save the Memories raised nearly $10,500 with the school’s assistance, and Brooks’ raised over $9,000 this year for her cause.
In addition to a walk, the event had a field of pinwheel flowers where participants could leave a flower in remembrance of a loved one. Blue flowers were meant for those living with Alzheimer’s victims, purple honored those who had passed, yellow represents Alzheimer’s caregivers and orange represents support for Alzheimer’s Association.
The 5K walk/run around the university had over 1,500 participants, and raised over $400,000 with all the teams combined.
Over 30 American Heritage students came to support the Alzheimer’s walk. (Photos/Emma Colarte Delgado and Marisol Colarte-Delgado)
The pinwheel flower garden allowed participants to write messages on their flowers for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s. (Photo/Emma Colarte Delgado)
The DJ plays songs from artists such as RunDMC and Pitbull to get the crowd energized to complete the walk/run. (Photo/Emma Colarte Delgado)
The Parrot Heads in Paradise helped organize this walk and helped fund over $10,000 for the walk. (Photo/Emma Colarte Delgado)