By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
A community walk to raise awareness – and funds – in the fight to end Alzheimer’s is coming up this Friday.
The public is invited to participate in and/or contribute to Yukon’s “Walk the Route.” A community walk will start at 9 a.m. Friday, June 30.
Walkers should meet in front of the Yukon Sunset Mural just west of Yukon City Hall.
Yukon Main Street, 528 W Main, will host Friday morning’s weekly Yukon Community Coffee outside before the walk commences.
While many people have been touched by Alzheimer’s, others do not understand this disease.
Angelique Morton, a Yukon financial advisor and Main Street volunteer, explained why she volunteered to be Walk the Route’s event coordinator.
“A person with Alzheimer’s is living with anxiety and sadness every single day, without ever understanding what is going on,” Morton shared.
“My grandmother lived with Alzheimer’s for 11 years and I was her caretaker.”
About 6.5 million people in the United States age 65 and older live with the disease.
The National Institute on Aging describes Alzheimer’s as a “brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.”
Alzheimer’s is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility.
“It’s like never waking up from a nightmare,” Morton added. “Hopefully by raising awareness and money throughout Yukon, we can help collectively as a community come to a better solution so they can find a cure.”
Whether or not they walk June 30, people are encouraged to join the Yukon Main Street Team.
“If you don’t have the funds to donate, just come out and be a part of the community, be a part of Main Street,” Morton said. “It can be very healing to connect with people who have been through the same thing with loved ones.”
There will be four rest stops/cool-down stations during Walk the Route – the Yukon Veterans Museum, Pro-Grade Flooring, Chisholm Trail Roofing, and the Yukon Main Street office.
“You can donate without walking, you can walk without donating,” Yukon Main Street Director Vicki Davis emphasized. “Our community has risen to great levels with their financial support.
“It’s also a show of support. That show of support can be just wearing purple to your workplace that day. Some of our shops are giving a percentage of their sales that day to the cause.”
PROMOTING BRAIN HEALTH
This will be Yukon’s third Walk the Route – the first two were in 2019 and 2021.
This Friday’s community walk will culminate a month-long campaign along Route 66 in Yukon.
All funds raised from Yukon’s Walk the Route will directly benefit the Alzheimer’s Association of Oklahoma.
The association observes “The Longest Day” each June to recognize the summer solstice as the day with the most sunlight.
“If Alzheimer’s touches your life in any way – whether you are directly afflicted or somebody in your life circle has it – every day is the longest day,” Davis explained.
Walking promotes brain health, Yukon’s Main Street director pointed out.
“From Main Street’s standpoint, one of the strategies that we adopted for transformation of downtown is connectivity and walkability,” she said. “We continue to work toward that.
“When somebody from The Longest Day had come into my office years ago and presented this, it was a real quick partnership to realize we were able to reach a very important sector of our community.”
There is no required distance for the June 30th community walk – people are invited to walk as much or as little as they want.
Special purple T-shirts supporting the Alzheimer’s Association of Oklahoma will be sold ($25 each) near the Yukon Sunset Mural during Yukon Walk the Route.
The Alzheimer’s Association will have a booth at the event providing information and accepting contributions.
Classic country radio station 99.7 FM – The Wolf also will be on-site.
For more information, call the Yukon Main Street office at (405) 350-5999, email mainstreet@gmail.com or visit www.yukon66mainstreet.com
