Walk to End Alz: Why I Walk

Walk to end alz 2020

By: Doug Ellison, Founding Partner, Cascadia Senior Living & Fieldstone Communities

“When we walk together, each of us carrying an experience with the disease, we are part of something much bigger.” – Doug Ellison

Fieldstone Memory Care has been a sponsor of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s for as long as we have been in business and I served on the board of directors for the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association for five years. Being part of such a great and important cause has been incredibly rewarding.

We chose to support the Alzheimer’s Association because we have a common goal: finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. We believe in their community-led approach and the way they organize and inspire people to join in the cause. That’s an approach we stand behind because we understand the value and the strength of a strong community. When we walk together, each of us carrying an experience with the disease, we are part of something much bigger.

Most of us have been impacted by this disease. In my own family, my aunt recently passed away from the disease, my uncle currently has Alzheimer’s and my father had Lewy body dementia. When our residents and family members see the support we give to the Alzheimer’s Association, they know that it’s genuine and comes from the heart of who we are at Fieldstone: a family. Many of our residents and their families participate in the Walk and when a resident passes away, families often make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. One of my best memories from the Walk to End Alzheimer’s was a few years ago, the last Walk before my father passed away. I took my dad and we rode a golf cart along the route with the other walkers. He was so excited and happy to participate.

It’s amazing to see the creativity and the drive that the Association continues to invest to fight this disease even as we battle a pandemic. They aren’t letting this stop them, and instead are thinking of innovative ways to bring people together while still keeping them safe. We’re proud to support them again this year just as we have every year.

It’s more critical now than ever to continue this partnership. Life has changed significantly because of COVID-19, but we can’t lose sight of our long-term goals. We’ve had to make major shifts at Fieldstone to It’s more critical now than ever to continue this partnership. Life has changed significantly because of COVID-19, but we can’t lose sight of our long-term goals. We’ve had to make major shifts at Fieldstone to keep our residents and staff members safe, but our mission of working together to create joyful and vibrant communities remains the same: Our vision for engaged and healthy residents is closely tied to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. That’s why we continue to put our support behind the Alzheimer’s Association, and why we’re inviting you to join the Walk efforts this year so we can continue to pave the way for a cure.