MUSCATINE, Iowa–With Muscatine’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s set for 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, people still have time to support this worthy cause and join many others in the community in journeying towards a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementias. For those wanting to take their first steps towards helping the Alzheimer’s Association through their premier event of the year, walk committee members and veteran walkers Autumn and Scott Schultz hope to encourage them to walk this year.
Scott Schultz has a close connection to people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, as his mother died from Alzheimer’s in 2007. While working at HON, Scott Schultz saw some of his colleagues raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association and realized that he could help make a difference locally. Now as a part of the walk committee, Scott Schultz has gotten a lot of fulfillment from helping the Alzheimer’s Association and meeting others with experiences like his. “What we found out in this journey is that everyone has a touch point to someone who has been affected by Alzheimer’s, either through a loved one or knowing someone that their loved one has passed away,” he shared.
For Autumn Schultz, getting involved with the Walk to End Alzheimer’s has led her to develop a great feeling of solidarity with others working to end these diseases. “Even though I don’t have a personal tie to losing someone to Alzheimer’s, I’ve been inspired with the community around me and of course the story,” she said.
Though people may wonder if the money raised by the Walk to End Alzheimer’s actually goes to local outreach efforts and not just national research, Autumn Schultz assure them that it does: “For Muscatine County, in regards to the Alzheimer’s Association, we have a support group here in Muscatine for anyone that truly needs help.” For those who cannot easily attend the support group in person, Autumn Schultz encourages them to visit the Alzheimer’s Association’s website, which provides free online support groups as well as an around the clock hotline to call.
If you would like to participate in this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, the Schultzes encourage you to do so through the Alzheimer’s Association’s website. To relieve the pressure of having to raise funds quickly, walkers have until Dec. 31 to turn in their final fundraising amount.
A beautiful and moving event, both Autumn and Scott Shultz look forward to this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s and hope you will join them. “I think the one thing that we love the most is when we raise our flowers up and we see this memorial garden of all these different color flowers and then we see that one white flower, and that white flower represents finding the first person that has been cured from Alzheimer’s–seeing all the people come out again after these past couple years is truly going to be an emotional experience because it just shows how much the Muscatine community comes together to help raise funds and awareness,” reflected Autumn Schultz.
“I would encourage people to walk this year because we have an amazing riverfront. I know not everyone gets to enjoy the sites and sounds of the Mississippi River, but as you’re walking with friends and family it adds another level of experience to your life that I would hate to see people miss,” Scott Schultz added.
