Mary Dembkowski, of Oakmont of Santa Clarita, is encouraging Santa Clarita Valley residents to attend Oakmont’s informational meeting to learn how they can get involved in the fourth annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
By Lori Bashian
The event will take place at Oakmont on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m and “anyone new that’s interested in becoming involved is welcome to come,” Dembkowski said.
“Its an information meeting where those that are walking are going to gather and kind of get tips on fundraising and so forth,” she continued. “It’s going to be just a great event, and we’re all there for the same reason — to just support the cause.”
The event is also geared toward those who are not interested in walking in the event, but would like to participate in different ways.
“If you are interested in volunteering or helping out with the walk — maybe not necessarily walking or participating — we can always use volunteers to help that day,” said Dembkowski. “There’s just so many different ways people can get involved, and we have all that information at Oakmont.”
The 4th annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which is held nationwide by the Alzheimer’s Association, is set to return to Bridgeport Park in Valencia on Oct. 8
Related: Oakmont Of Santa Clarita Official Encourages Seniors To Join Waitlist Now
“It’s just such a special event, just seeing all the people touched by this disease and coming together to raise funds for programs (and) research,” Dembkowski said.
A large sum of the funds raised from the event are donated to the Alzheimer’s Association with the intent of being used for research, according to Dembkowski.
“Research, research, research — that’s where the most important part of the funds go, and the more that we can support that research, the closer we’re going to become to finding a cure,” explained Dembkowski.
Funds are raised through sponsors who pledge a certain dollar amount to those who are walking, or through direct donations made to the Alzheimer’s Association on the Santa Clarita Walk to End Alzheimer’s page.
“Usually you’re sponsoring a walker, so if you know of someone that’s walking, you can support them,” explained Dembkowski. “If you don’t know of anyone that’s walking, you can just donate to the Santa Clarita Walk to End Alzheimer’s.”