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Castlegar walk raises thousands for local Alzheimer’s support

Castle Wood Village fundraiser shows astounding support in community, organizers say
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Castlegar senior Nettie Ostrikoff chats with Castlegar Rebels player Tristan Jones before the Alzheimer’s walk in Castlegar last Thursday. Photo: John Boivin

More than 150 people showed up last Thursday to support people with Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, and their families.

The fifth annual Castle Wood Village fundraiser and awareness walk was a tremendous success, say organizers.

Between a bake sale, silent auction and donations, more than $6,700 was raised. The walk on a rainy late-summer morning also helped raise awareness of the disease.

“It’s astounding, what they’ve been able to accomplish,” said Karen Waldal, the support and education coordinator for the West Kootenay Resource Centre Alzheimer Society of BC.

“It’s just wonderful, not just for the way people come out to raise money, but also the way they raise awareness as well.”

Waldal says about 70,000 people are known to have Alzheimer’s in the province, about two per cent of the population. But here in the West Kootenay, with an older population, the number is thought to be closer to three per cent.

“We talk about the people we know who are diagnosed, but we recognize there are probably a lot of other people who are out there struggling, who have never received a diagnosis,” she says. “We still live in a bit of a time when people say ‘well, when you get older you start losing memory.’ We used to call it senility.

“We know now that that is just not the case.”

Early diagnosis is the key, she says, knowing the early signs of Alzheimer’s and talking to your doctor about it.

“We tend to fear something we don’t know about, don’t understand,” she says. “But having a diagnosis allows your family time to plan and adapt.

“We want to reduce the stigma, to help people understand the difficulties this raises for families and caregivers, and to try to offer support for those families and caregivers they so most desperately need in their journey.”

All the funds raised by the Castle Wood walk stay in the Castlegar area to be used for education and awareness campaigns.



reporter@rosslandnews.com

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“It’s astounding, what they’ve been able to accomplish,” says local Alzheimer’s Society support and education coordinator Karen Waldal. Photo: John Boivin