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By Will Bredderman
Brooklyn Daily
Call it a walk to remember.
Nearly 900 people marched on the Coney Island Boardwalk on Sept. 22 to raise money and awareness to combat Alzheimer’s Disease.
It was the fifth-annual walk in Brooklyn, and the fourth on the People’s Playground promenade, for the New York chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, which offers free counseling and support to those who suffer from the disease and their families, from locations like the Brooklyn Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Flatbush.
Organizers of the Walk Against Alzheimer’s said that participation is up nearly 400 people from last year, and that the event raised some $125,000 — compared to $103,000 in 2012. They said the growth reflects the Association’s increasing engagement in the borough.
“We’re excited about being more and more engaged with Brooklyn,” said Association president and chief executive officer Lou-Ellen Barkan.
Barkan said the group is planning several “Alzheimer’s Awareness Nights” with the Nets at the Barclays Center this season. The team’s mascot, the Brooklyn Knight, made an appearance at Sunday’s walk.
Walkers included many Russian-Americans, who chatted up other Eastern European immigrants as they made their way from Stillwell Avenue past the New York Aquarium. They discovered many people in Brighton Beach who have friends and family members suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
“We’re reaching out to different communities both within the walk, and through the walk,” said Association vice president Nick Emerson.