Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Rotunda Online
The Rotunda
Friday, July 4, 2025

Alzheimer's Walk

This Thursday, Sept. 29, you might have been able to see Longwood and Hampden-Sydney students marching around the Longwood campus at 5 p.m. in this year's Walk to End Alzheimer's. Longwood's Sigma Kappa organized the event to raise awareness and to raise funds for Alzheimer's patients. Walking down High Street, Griffin Boulevard, looping around South Main Street, and walking all the way down until arriving at Brock Commons for refreshments and snacks, participants had a great time with great, sunny weather.

Vice President of Philanthropic Service for Sigma Kappa, Kristin Brocke said, "We believe that we had about 400 people who came out to support the walk this past Thursday! Our goal was to raise around $4,000 and exceeded that goal by raising $6,500!"

As stated on the Alzheimer's Walk to End Alzheimer's website, "Walk to End Alzheimer's is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Since 1989, this all age, all-ability walk has mobilized millions to join the fight against Alzheimer's disease, raising more than $347 million for the cause. Events are held annually in the fall in nearly 600 communities nationwide."

Brocke commented that, "It is one of [Sigma Kappa's] responsibilities to organize the Alzheimer's Walk here in Farmville. Alzheimer's has been one of Sigma Kappa's philanthropies for quite awhile. We think it is extremely important to give back to those who have given so much to us."

Participants could register online at www.alz.org/walk, the Walk to End Alzheimer's website, either as an individual or as a team to create a webpage to receive donations. Receiving donations online, the participant supports Walk to End Alzheimer's by bringing in individuals who may not be able to participate in the event, but may still be in participating in the movement.

"Currently, more than 5 million American[s] ha[ve] Alzheimer's disease," states the Alzheimer's Association, "and that number is expected to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050." The sixth-leading cause of death in the US, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, meaning that it worsens over time, and with no cure. Still without a known cause, Alzheimer's is an incredibly mysterious, dangerous and prevalent disease with a new person developing it every 69 seconds in the US, says the Alzheimer's Association website.

Sophomore Ashley Reynolds was one Longwood student who attended the event. When commenting on why she wanted to join the Walk, she said, " … My sorority puts it on, and that gave me a lot of motivation to do it. And also after learning about it a lot and learning how Alzheimer's is not curable and how you can't slow it down -- it really motivated me to do the walk and raise a bunch of money...I personally raised $205 ... I think our [Sigma Kappa's] goal was about two thousand dollars."

When asked if Longwood should expect another Walk to End Alzheimer's, Reynolds answered, "We do this every year. So, I would definitely recommend as many  people as possible to do it because it's a good way to raise money and awareness to help the cause."

Not only did Longwood students participate in the event, but so did students from Hampden-Sydney. One student included Cody Castelvecchi, who said, "I'm in a fraternity over at Hampden-Sydney, and we do philanthropy type stuff. And this just happened to be one of the things we ended up doing." Contributing to the crowd, Castelvecchi said, "I just walked."

When asked if he would recommend others to join in on events like Walk to End Alzheimer's, Castelvecchi said, "Yeah, absolutely. I think it's great for the community and for raising money and awareness."

Rocky Tritico was another Hampden-Sydney student who participated "just to participate in the opportunity." He said that, for him, "[Participating is] a regular thing. Like a once a month kind of thing...One should be a part of the community, to support and be a part of something about any cause that you feel passionate about."

When asked if he had any experiences in his family with Alzheimer's, Tritico said, "My grandmother, she had a bad stroke, and she started to suffer from dementia, and some Alzheimer's set in."

Commenting on the event, Tritico happily commented that, "The turnout was pretty big. It was a really good thing to see."

Brocke said, "We couldn't have done it without the support of our campus and the Farmville community. Sponsoring this walk isn't about doing something so we can say we did it, it's about taking care of those who can no longer take care of themselves.  Alzheimer's research is something that Sigma Kappa's hold close to our hearts and it's great to know that we are helping in hopefully finding a cure."

Tempted to participate, but don't feel like you could make a difference? Even being a face in the crowd can provide power in numbers for the amount of reaction received by the public. Sending emails around and posting on my Facebook account, I was able to raise $50 to the Alzheimer's Association by other's donations. If I can do that, imagine what you can do. Participate in a cause you believe in. Make a donation of any size, big or small. Be a face in a crowd. Working together, everyone's hard work adds up.

Find your passion, and make a difference. 

Trending