On Staten Island: Alzheimer’s Association Walk To End Alzheimer’s Raises $52K To Fight This Disease on Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, NY – More than 727 people participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s® at Wolfe’s Pond Park in Staten Island on Saturday, October 10. More than $52,066 was raised to support the care, support and research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Sophie Lesser, Senior Manager of Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the Alzheimer’s Association New York City Chapter, says: “The Alzheimer’s Association New York City Chapter sincerely thanks the many dedicated Walk participants, volunteers and sponsors who made the Staten Island Walk to End Alzheimer’s a tremendous success. The funds raised will help fuel disease research while also providing critical care and support to individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementia.”

On Walk Day, participants honored those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony — a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidarity in the fight against the disease. During the ceremony, walkers carried flowers of various colors, each color representing their personal connection to the disease.

Anne Matrone honored her mother with the Staten Island Walk mission moment. Anne says, “My mom, Rosalie Acampora, started to show signs of memory loss in her mid 70s. She couldn’t follow simple directions for recipes she made all the time. She would mix up information in conversations and struggle to follow along. My dad, Alfonse Acampora, was her main care giver for many year. When he passed away in 2016, I felt so lost as to how to care for mom. That’s when I turned to the Alzheimer’s Association for help. I called the helpline and that changed everything.

They were so supportive and provided me with both resources and compassion to help me and my family deal with the challenges to come. Our family watched my mom slowly decline until she passed away in 2020 at the young age of 83, and I turned my grief into action by joining the incredible team of volunteers to support the Staten Island Walk.”

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a day for people to be with a community that understands and can help. New York has the second-highest rate of Alzheimer’s of any state in the U.S. More than 426,000 New Yorkers are living with Alzheimer’s, including 188,600 residents in New York City aged 65 and older. Though Alzheimer’s remains a fatal disease, there are now two FDA-approved treatments to slow its progress, with more in development.

The Staten Island Walk to End Alzheimer’s event sponsors include The Brielle, Rampulla & Newstad, and Northwell Staten Island University Hospital. Donations are accepted till December 31. To donate, visit act.alz.org/StatenIslandWalk.

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.  Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.