MSU head women’s basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie will serve as honorary chair of the Greater Lansing Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s disease Sunday.
The fourth annual 3K/5K walk, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association, begins at the Breslin Center and travels through campus. Registration begins at noon and the race begins at 1 p.m.
McCallie has been involved with the Memory Walk for the past five years. She said she values participating in the community.
“My grandmother and grandfather suffered from the disease, so I saw its ill effects firsthand,” she said. “To lose your mind before your body - it’s just something I can’t imagine.”
An estimated 4,600 residents of Ingham, Jackson and Washtenaw counties have Alzheimer’s disease.
Alan Esper, special events coordinator for the South Central Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the event is open to anyone.
“Everyone from healthcare providers to hospitals to fraternities and sororities to families with small children and even those with Alzheimer’s show up to walk,” he said.
Kate Luick, communication senior and chapter president of Sigma Kappa, said her sorority is involved nationwide with the Alzheimer’s Association.
“We are for the prevention and cure of the disease,” she said. “Each member of Sigma Kappa makes a donation and all of us participate in the walk each year.”
In the last three years, the Memory Walk has raised more than $120,000 in the Lansing area to help local families who are affected by the disease.
The South Central Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association sponsors three walks each year. The MSU event is first, followed by one Sept. 23 in Jackson and one Oct. 7 in Ann Arbor.
“With these three walks, we will hopefully surpass $200,000,” Esper said.
Although progress has been made in educating the public about the disease, McCallie says still there’s much to be done.
“The bottom line is that there is no cure. Until then, progress and involvement must continue so that the research continues,” she said.
