This year, the Mississippi Alzheimer’s Association has been using social media to promote the Mississippi Delta Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, and its other walks throughout the state.
Leading the promotion in Greenwood is 12-year-old Peyton Mann.
Mann shares the Alzheimer’s Association statuses with her friends on Facebook and sometimes on Instagram, she said.
The Pillow Academy student also shares Alzheimer’s-related stories she finds on the Internet.
“I use all of my social media accounts, and I talk to people on Facebook and all my friends,” said Mann. “I’ve gotten my friends involved.”
She will have a team of 10 members at the walk consisting of girls her own age.
Mann shares her knowledge about Alzheimer’s — which is more than that of the average seventh-grader — with her peers, friends and people she meets. She has also been in contact with two local television stations about promoting the event.
“I just love helping,” said Mann. “It doesn’t take much to share something on your page. It’s all about showing your support and doing what you can.”
Mann’s mother is Paula Sudduth, the chair of the Mississippi Delta Walk to End Alzheimer’s this year.
Sudduth has been involved with and a volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association for 15 years, and, for the past three years, she has shared the responsibility of being a caregiver with her family.
“The most important reason for me to be a part of this, like many others, is personal,” said Sudduth. “I’ve had family members who have had Alzheimer’s. I have seen the struggles that the family goes through as caregivers.”
Sudduth said she is proud of her daughter for stepping up for the past two years to help promote and support the event.
“I have family members who have gone through this, and I know it is a terrible disease,” said Mann. “I know it’s tough for caretakers, and it is hard on them. I just would really like a cure for this disease.”
The sixth annual walk, with its new name to encourage participation throughout the Mississippi Delta, will also have a new location. The walk will start at the park between the Keesler and Veterans bridges. The location will make the transition from the walk and ceremonies to the Paddling for the Purple duck race, which will be held after the walk.
The weighted ducks will be dropped into the Yazoo River from the Veterans Bridge.
The first duck to cross the finish line will win $100, the second will win $75 and the third will win $50. After the ducks are netted from boats by the Greenwood Fire and Rescue team, they will be selected at random for $1,000 worth of youth prizes donated by Drake Waterfowl.
Ducks can be adopted at Garden Park Adult Day Center or Advanced Rehabilitation. Paddling for the Purple is one of the several fundraisers that will be held at the park on the day of the walk. Others include food vendors and inflatables.
This year, the Highway Riders Motorcycle Club will lead the 3-mile walk. Following the riders will be the 2014 Alzheimer’s Walk Champion, an honor usually given to a person who has been a caregiver of someone or has lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s disease. Johnny Griggs of Itta Bena was selected as this year’s champion.
Griggs has been involved with the walk for six years. He has had several members of his family diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, including his grandmother, mother and three sisters and a brother.
Griggs has shared in responsibility as a caretaker and has seen the effects of the disease up close.
“A lot of people don’t realize the effect it has on the family as well as the individual,” said Griggs. “It takes a lot out of the family to accept it. You have so much love for your family, when you see it coming on, you don’t really believe it. You just don’t want it to happen, and then reality hits.”
Griggs will have a team of about 50 at the walk, consisting of his family, friends and church members. Some of his team members travel from Ohio, Georgia and Texas.
“When you see it happening, it’s hurtful,” he said.
“There’s nothing you can do but be patient with them, pray for them and give them all the attention that you can do. Sometimes it’s gradual, and sometimes it moves faster. The more you are around them, the more you learn about it.”
Griggs said he hopes to use his position as Walk Champion to talk to those just developing Alzheimer’s or other caregivers.
“I can lead the walk and show others what I am trying to do to help combat this problem,” he said.
Sudduth said the walk’s main focus is Alzheimer’s awareness, advocacy and motivating people to get involved. All proceeds from the walk go to the Alzheimer’s Association, and 90 percent of the funds stay in the state for caregiver support programs and Alzheimer’s education. The rest of the money supports research.
In previous years, the walk in Greenwood has raised more than $100,000 for the Mississippi Alzheimer’s Association.
“It’s such a sad disease,” said Sudduth. “It strips people of their ability to know who they are and be the person they have always been and knowing and appreciating their family.”
The closing ceremonies will include The Promise Garden, a ceremony in which people may participate by placing flowers colored to represent their involvement in the walk in a row at the park. A blue flower is for those living with Alzheimer’s. A yellow flower is for those supporting or caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. A purple flower is for those who have lost someone to Alzheimer's, and an orange flower is for those who support the cause.
“It’s really beautiful,” said Shirley Garrett, activities director of Garden Park Adult Day Center. “It really is very moving. At the closing ceremonies, we have someone who represents each of the flowers.”
Trophies of purple and white pottery in the shape of the state — pieces made by those who attend Garden Park Adult Day Center — will be awarded to the top teams and individuals who have raised the most funds.
To join or start a team for the Mississippi Delta Walk to End Alzheimer’s, visit alz.org/ms.
To volunteer or for more information, call Garrett at Garden Park at 451-9058 or Sudduth at 515-8293.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
