MANCHESTER – It wasn’t about raising money but awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s that recently drew a large crowd to World War II Veterans Memorial Park in Whiting.
The walkers included Township Mayor Robert Arace and members of his staff Judy Noonan and Frank Nicolato. The event was supported by the township and received donations of food from the Manchester Wawa and the Toast Café located in the township.
The event was coordinated by AristiCare which has two locations in the township. Executive Director Robert Greenburger joined a number of staff members for the walk. “We started this last year. This is our second year and now it is officially annually. Years ago, we did a lot with Alzheimer Association. We started a dementia unit in our locations in Manchester and Whiting and what we found was that local families were our team who worked with the unit. For the local population that suffers from these terrible diseases, there is no support locally.”
He added, “we have a great township here and so we are bringing awareness and teamed up with the township.” For example, they want to educate the community what to do if they have a loved one suffering from dementia.
A crowd of people walked to raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s at the World War II Veterans Memorial Park in Whiting. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
“We want to do it local and we kicked it off last year and we are excited to be back,” Greenburger said. “My goal was to have around 75 people. Today is a beautiful day for it. We are just raising awareness and not money, there is no financial goal.”
He said he spoke to the Mayor Robert Arace about creating a network of local people, a volunteer group. If someone gets lost, there would be people throughout town who would look around their area.
“Everyone takes a part and we’d have a registry so that if you have a loved one with dementia we know, he likes to go to this store so we’d go this way,” Greenburger added.
Greenburger told The Manchester Times, “Our goal is to motivate the community and those who service the community that they should join together and see what they could do to help people that are dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s. That is our goal. It is also about education. There is so much we can do when people get together. We have a lot of support groups that we work with and that is our vision we want awareness.”
He noted that it is necessary in life to at times, stop and pause and observe the world around you. “When you don’t stop and think then there is nothing that can ever grow.”
Manchester Township Mayor Robert Arace, left, joins Aristicare Executive Director Robert Greenburger and Aristicare Director of Business Development Joselyn Delgado as they prepare for the second Aristicare Walk For Awareness of Alzheimer’s and Dementia held at the World War II Veterans Memorial Park in Whiting. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
“Sometimes just sitting and thinking and saying ‘today we are going to focus on this’ creates ideas. That is the objective of this event today,” he added.
One of the walkers was Ursula Sthnell. “I didn’t know they had this last year but when I found out I made it a point to come this year and I signed up. I have no idea how far we are walking.”
Among the walkers was Sara Ritterbush who brought a photo of her late husband Wesley, a U.S. Marine veteran who passed away last year. “I came out in memory of him.”
Mayor Arace said the walk was bringing “attention and awareness to the senior community and senior care particularly around dementia patients and care. This year we have our police, Barnabas Health, Manchester Senior Services – which is a really good combination of township services, private services and county services to show the seniors that we really care about them.”
Among the walkers at the recently held Aristicare Walk For Awareness of Alzheimers and Dementia was Sara Ritterbush who brought a photo of her late husband Wesley, a U.S. Marine veteran who passed away last year. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
“I think the best thing about this is to get out and have a nice walk and learn about the services you have in the town and county for the betterment of the seniors,” the mayor added.
He told the crowd about the senior services annex in Whiting on Lacey Road.
Aristicare Director of Business Development Joselyn Delgado thanked the participation of the police department who came out to discuss and provide informational material to prevent fraud in the senior community. “Because there are a lot of scammers out there now on the rise. We have the Monmouth Medical Center, Ocean County campus with some information and CMC (Community Medical Center Hospital) with information and they offer a lot of resources.”
“They both have support organizations that can help those who have loved one who is suffering and provide guidance and support which is so necessary,” Greenburger noted.
After the walk there was a drawing for a large gift basket that was won by 91-year-old Claire Page.
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