ST. JOHNSBURY- On Saturday, St. Johnsbury hosted The Walk To End Alzheimer's.
The walk managed to raise $25,000, which was more than three times the amount of last year's walk.
St. Johnsbury is one of five towns in Vermont to host the walk. This was the town's fifth year participating and it also had their biggest outcome yet. Nearly two-hundred people came out to support the disease.
According to Lieutenant Governer Phil Scott, Vermont has a great history of taking care of their neighbors and looking out for one-another. Scott also talked about how good of a job events like "The Walk to End Alzheimer's" do showcasing that.
For event coordinator Patrick McKeon this walk is extremely important.
"If someone receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer's-- they suffer with it, and their family suffers with it. There's no treatment, no pill, there is nothing anyone can do to help a family cope with that, so we are all here walking to help find a cure."
Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. Some of the effects this disease has on people include loss of memory and the loss of intellectual abilities; as the development of the disease progresses throughout the brain, loss of memory and other skills worsen.
On Saturday, everyone who registered was encouraged to also visit the Promise Garden. At the Promise Garden they were able to create their own Promise Garden Flower. These flowers represent the person that the participant was supporting and how Alzheimer's effected them. These flowers were divided up by colors, and each color symbolized a different experience with the disease. A blue flower represented someone with Alzheimer's or dementia whereas a purple flower stood for a loved one that has passed due to the illness. A yellow flower meant the participant was supporting someone who currently has Alzheimer's and the fourth and final color was orange, which was for everyone who supports the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer's.