Alzheimer’s Association Walk coming to Jacksonville

By Ryne Turke on February 29, 2016 at 5:46am

The world’s largest annual event for raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s is coming to Jacksonville.

Lisa Kluge appeared on WLDS’ “What’s On Your Mind?” this week to talk about the Alzheimer’s Association Walk at Community Park on September 10th.

Kluge says the Jacksonville Walk is in the early stages of development.

“We are just looking for teams right now. I’m from Heritage Health and we deal with a lot of Alzheimer’s at our building. We talked to Tina at the Alzheimer’s Association and they were more than happy to have a walk over here. We have teams that go to Springfield, so we hope those people just stay in town.”

“I really like that it is a casual atmosphere. A lot of teams have shirts. You aren’t timed or anything, so you can leisurely stroll around the park.”

With this being the first Alzheimer’s Association Walk in Jacksonville, Kluge says she is more concerned about getting teams than raising money.

“Usually it takes a year to raise money so a team can be where it wants to be. Don’t worry about how much money you raise. You can drop in the day of the race. If you see the purple balloons then come by and walk. If you have a loved one you can leave five dollars or nothing. You can go away with good information from the Alzheimer’s Association.”

The walk is in conjunction with the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Be Aware Wellness Fair in Community Park.

Kluge is hoping local residents will generate 10-20 teams for the event.

To sign up, contact Kluge at 479-3400 or go to the kickoff meeting on March 3rd at Heritage Health at 10 a.m.