The Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group, LLC will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a walk on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. at DeHart Park in Stuart. Registration for the walk is $25 per person.
Sally Smith, executive director of the group, said the event will feature food, music, face painting, booths, free T-shirts, and a color powder party. “You can be red, you can be green, you can be blue,” Smith said, referring to the vibrant festivities planned. Participants who pay the $25 fee will also receive a free meal.
“This celebration is a way of saying thank you to the people of Patrick County and the surrounding 60-mile area,” Smith said, noting the group’s partnership with the Ararat Ruritan Club for the event.
The collaboration with the Ruritan Club was sparked after both organizations faced low turnout for their respective walks—one for Alzheimer’s and one for mental health. “They came back and said, ‘how about we do a walk for both?’” Smith said. “If more groups worked together, we could accomplish so much more.”
The establishment of an Alzheimer’s group in Ararat would mark the third in Patrick County, Smith added. The Vesta-Meadows of Dan Alzheimer’s Group, which meets at the Vesta Community Center, was formed about three years ago. The Stuart group was founded in 2004, inspired by Smith’s personal experience with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Smith shared that when her mother was diagnosed, the family approached the disease head-on. “We didn’t keep it a secret,” Smith said. “We just told people, ‘Mom has Alzheimer’s, what do we do now?’” The group began with the goal of helping others facing similar challenges and worked to connect families with resources.
In its early days, the group invited Alzheimer’s expert Teepa Snow to speak, drawing about 80 attendees. Smith believes that many people were initially hesitant to acknowledge Alzheimer’s publicly. “People were ashamed to say they couldn’t remember things,” she said. “But we wanted to make sure people knew what Alzheimer’s does.”
Since its inception, the group has assisted hundreds of residents and those within a 60-mile radius. Smith noted that Alzheimer’s is an expensive disease to manage, with many costs not covered by Medicare. The group helps provide patients and caregivers with supplies like Ensure, diapers, gloves, and more. Currently, the group supports about 30 patients.
For more information, contact the Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group at (276) 693-2089. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 1301, Stuart, VA 24171.
