Walk To End Alzheimers

Eight hundred people from around Long Island and out of state braved the 90-degree temperature to walk at the Alzheimers Disease Resource Center 11th annual fundraiser event at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration recently.

The event featured a Coney Island theme, with 90 teams walking the paths around the village. The event raised close to $150,000 and the donations are still being tallied. Executive director Mary Ann Malack-Ragona was pleased with the turnout given the sweltering heat of the day. Malack-Ragona said two grants were recently awarded, with $5,000 to the New York Stem Cell Foundation and $3,000 to Dr. Irving Gomolin, chief division of Geriatric Medicine at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola.

Many local residents came out in support. Photos by Cynthia Paulis

The Stem Cell Foundation makes stem cells not from embryos, but from skin grafts of people who have Alzheimers disease, said Malack-Ragona. This is ground breaking research. The second grant to Dr. Gomolin is doing a study on how the removal of Namenda from the marketplace, which is set to take place at the end of the year and the use of the substitute, an extended release formulation will impact the blood levels of patients with Alzheimers Disease.

Team leaders were asked to come to the stage to be recognized. Randy Bet from Old Bethpage with her group Team Cousins raised the most money for this event coming in at $10,028.

I am proud to be a part of this organization. I want to thank Mary Ann Ragona for all of the work she is doing to keep the funds we raise here on Long Island, said Bet. She has met so much resistance but keeps going.

My father and my mother-in-law both had Alzheimers, so my two children have Alzheimers on both sides of their family. It is really important for us to find a cure for this disease.

One of the major contributors to the team from Syosset was Robert Rankell who donated $7,500. He was honored with a plaque and was humbled by the award.

This is something near and dear to myself and my family members and I walk to help find a cure.

Old Bethpages Al Sasano was the captain of Team Lucy, which boasted 13 members.

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Walk To End Alzheimers