My family and I walked in the “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” in Madison, WI this weekend. All the money raised at these walks throughout the United States is going to research to try to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.

I would like to say a special thank you to all of those who so generously donated to this fight to find a cure for Alzheimer’s both financially and through their prayers. Our family was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that we received. Out of 20 teams of people walking in Madison, we raised the second highest total of financial support, which was $5,235. The entire group of walkers and corporate sponsors in Madison raised $118,000 to battle this disease.

I found this event to be a great testament to the power of shared vision, teamwork, and positive encouragement. The shared vision of all the walkers and the people that supported us is – A world free from the captivity of Alzheimer’s Disease! Virtually all of the walkers, and many of the supporters, have somehow been affected by a family member or friend that they have either lost to Alzheimer’s Disease or is currently suffering from the disease right now. We want to do whatever we can to try to find a cure so that future generations don’t have to suffer in this fashion.

The teamwork was contagious and powerful. An event with this level of success required a great leader, many great team captains, engaged team members, super volunteers, and most of all caring supporters of all of the above. When you put all those ingredients together great things happened.

The last key factor of this successful event was the level of encouragement that was present. From the start of fundraising activities the overall leader was totally encouraging to all participants raising funds, supplying whatever help and resources we needed. On the day of the walk there were numerous volunteers (true servant leaders) giving their time to be at the event, at all stages of the walk doing nothing but encouraging and thanking people for their efforts. And lastly the overall leader held a festive event after the walk to share the fantastic results that were produced and allowed an environment of celebration for all participants of the Walk.

While everyone realizes this is just another small step in the battle to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, progress in the right direction was accomplished, and we still have an eye on the vision for a world free of Alzheimer’s Disease! Working together as a TEAM we can make a difference for the good of future generations. 

Mark Deterding