Alzheimer’s Awareness Month Is Over — But the Fight for a Cure Isn’t
Penticton team of 25 takes on the virtual Honolulu Marathon to fund memory cafés and brain health across the Okanagan
PENTICTON, B.C. — September was Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. The calendar has turned, but for a team of 25 Penticton-area residents, the fight is just getting going: they’re lacing up for the virtual Honolulu Marathon to raise money for community memory cafés and a new brain-health program for the Okanagan.
The team — 25 runners and walkers — will cover their marathon miles right here at home while raising funds for the memory cafés: welcoming community gatherings for people living with dementia and the people who love them. The cafés take on two of the hardest parts of the dementia journey — stigma and isolation.
The team’s message is simple: September may be over, but the fight for better brain health continues — one kilometre at a time.
Over the past year, the memory cafés have become an unexpected listening post. Again and again, attendees have said the same thing: people need better information about the resources already available to them. That feedback hasn’t stayed in the room — it has been passed along to government and policymakers, giving decision-makers a clear picture of what families actually need.
Some team members recently took part in an international brain-health and Alzheimer’s prevention program connected with the University of Geneva, and they are now beginning to put those ideas into practice in the Okanagan — practical, everyday steps people can take to protect their brain health.
The team’s inspiration traces back to Dr. Jack Kooy, who was championing the exercise–brain health connection long before it was fashionable — back when a pedometer was the latest technology. “Back then it was pedometers and Dr. Kooy,” Benson said. “Today it’s Garmins and gadgets. Same message: move for your brain.”
It’s a message backed by science: physical activity is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for dementia — a condition in which up to 45 per cent of cases are linked to risk factors people can actually change.
Local corporations are already contributing generously to the team’s fundraising, and organizers are calling on the community to join in — by signing up for the 25-member team or by sponsoring a runner. Every dollar raised keeps the memory cafés going and helps bring the brain-health program to communities across the Okanagan.
To join the team or donate: https://www.researchfindscures.org/donate
About Research Finds Cures (DB Foundation)
Research Finds Cures (DB Foundation) is a Canadian charitable foundation supporting community brain-health initiatives, including memory cafés and the dementia-friendly community project in the Okanagan.