A record crowd of more than 8,000 people attended today’s 5K Walk to End Alzheimer’s, bringing the total amount of funds raised so far to more than $600,000.
The walk, which started and finished in Denver City Park, is an annual event to raise funds for education, research and support programs, said Sara Spaulding, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Association, which sponsors the walk.
“We were absolutely thrilled with the outpour of support today and it really provides people with a sense of community,” Spaulding said.
The organization’s goal for this year is $775,000, which will go towards the free services offered to Alzheimer’s patients and their families.
Participants carried more than 4,000 Promise Flowers this year, each color representing a different promise, Spaulding said.
Purple flowers were carried by someone remembering someone who died of Alzheimer’s, blue flowers represent the promise to honor those living with the disease, yellow flowers showed a promise to care for someone living with Alzheimer’s and orange flowers were carried by someone promising to join the fight against the disease.
Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, Spaulding said.
