Team Brookline recruits fundraisers for Alzheimer's walk

Anissa Rupert Ilie

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

In about the time it will take you to read this article, someone in the United States will develop Alzheimer's disease. That happens once every 69 seconds, according to a 2011 report published by the Alzheimer's Association.

Of the estimated 5.4 million Americans afflicted with the disease, approximately 280,000 of those people live in Pennsylvania.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk has been the association's signature fundraising event, raising around $347 million for the cause, helping to offset the $187 billion it costs annually to care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients in this country (www.alz.org). The walk has been renamed newly titled "The Walk to End Alzheimer's." In the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter, almost 7,000 people participate annually in the 20 walks in the 59 counties in the chapter. This year's walk will start at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg.

At Brookline, Team Brookline—consisting of staff, family and friends—works year-round raising money for the State College Walk to End Alzheimer's. The top fundraising team for the past two years, the group hopes to meet that goal again, said team leader Elizabeth Plozner, who serves as the activities director for The Terrace at Brookline, a secured memory care facility in State College.

On Monday, the team held a chicken and waffles benefit dinner featuring special guest servers, members of the Penn State 2011 NCAA national championship wrestling team. From 5 to 8 p.m. today, Five Guys Burgers and Fries on West College Avenue will donate 15 percent of its total sales to the team.

Other fundraisers held in the past year have included the third annual Fall Festival at Harner Farm, a family event that includes a variety of kids' activities, a corn maze, and a bake/fall food sale; the annual Christmas in July sale, featuring local retailers and vendors selling their wares, with each donating a portion of the proceeds to the cause; sandwich and candy sales; and flower bulb sales, among others.

The planning committee for the State College Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's meets each month at The Inn at Brookline, and members of the State College and surrounding communities are welcome to join by contacting the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter special events manager, Tiffani Chambers, at 717-651-5020 or tiffani.chambers@alz.org. More information is available at www.alz.org.