More than 1,000 people walked through Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter on Saturday morning for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Palm Beach. Organizers said more than $334,000 was raised at the event.
Participants carried Promise Garden flowers, each color carrying a meaning. Blue stood for people living with the disease, yellow for caregivers, purple for loved ones lost and orange for hope of a future without Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
The Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Florida ran the event. The group said an estimated 51,600 Palm Beach County residents over 65, or 13.8% of the population, are living with the disease.
Statewide, the association estimates more than 580,000 Floridians have Alzheimer’s and 877,000 people serve as unpaid caregivers. Money raised at the walk supports local care and support programs as well as research into the disease.
