Thousands of people take part in the Charleston Walk to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – Over a thousand people marched today to end Alzheimer’s disease at The Joe in downtown Charleston.

According to the 2023 South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Registry Annual Report, more than 122,000 South Carolinians are living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Association nearly reached its goal of $400,000 just before the participants took off.

So many people followed their loved ones.

Caroline Gathers lost her mother, also known as her grandmother, about five years ago after an eleven-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Team Grandma,” she and her family chanted.

Heathers said she was encouraged to go today after being caught up in a group chat, and she soon rallied her family to join her in honor of her grandmother.

“We had days where you know it was a fight, but for the most part I wouldn’t change a thing,” Gathers said.

She said they suffered watching what Grandma had to go through, but knew when she died it was time for her to go.

Another family, Brooks Martin and Jaime Chase, left after seeing the reality of the disease and the immediate impact it had on them.

“I think the message is that it’s not just leaving your keys somewhere or turning off the lights, it’s a degenerative disease that’s just horrible,” Chase said.

They did the Washington, D.C. Walk to End Alzheimer’s Disease and decided to come to support the low country.

There are nine Walk to End Alzheimer’s events across South Carolina, and the Charleston walk alone has raised more than $317,000 as of Sunday afternoon.

As each participant followed a loved one, they were also given an orange, yellow, purple, or blue flower to represent their influence.

Orange: I support the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer’s disease
Yellow: I support or care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease
Purple: I lost someone to Alzheimer’s
Blue: I have Alzheimer’s disease.

The hope with this funding is to see a white flower that represents a person who has been cured of this disease. “It’s just important to support as much as we can. Asking me to go for a walk to raise a few bucks is easy,” Martin said.

All proceeds from these walks go towards researching treatments and cures and supporting family members or carers.

“Yeah, I guess that’s why we walk, because you don’t know until you’ve been through it, or even if someone close to you has been through it. So it’s tough, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” Chase said.

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