This month the Alzheimer’s Association’s Northeastern New York chapter is organizing a hiking challenge to raise money and awareness, spotlighting the more than 6 million Americans living with the disease and their caregivers. The 2nd annual Paint the Peaks Purple Challenge centers around June 21st – the summer solstice. But with the date falling on a Tuesday, the organization is encouraging those interested in taking part to find any day in June that works for them.
WAMC's Jim Levulis spoke with John Marcantonio, a chapter board member, about the effort.
Marcantonio: Paint the Peaks Purple is kind of a brainchild of mine. My mom passed away from Alzheimer's disease six years ago. And during her journey with the disease, as her primary caregiver, there was a lot of a lot of emotion and pain watching my mother go through that. And I became a hiker, became a very avid hiker and became an Adirondack 46er. And, you know, when my mom passed away, in her honor, I started participating in the longest day fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association. And a group of four or five of my friends and I would get together on the longest day, which is the summer solstice. You know, in honor of all those suffering from Alzheimer's and their primary caregivers, every day is the longest day for those folks. So on the longest day, starting four years ago, got a group of four my other friends, we set for us to hike from sunup to sundown, and concurred multiple Adirondack High Peaks in one day. And as the momentum grew, we did that for three years, last year, I said, you know, instead of just having this be an isolated event for myself and my group, why not open this up to everybody and look at more accessible hikes? So there's lots of great lists out there put out by different organizations, whether it's the Lake George 12, the Lake Placid 9, the Saranac 6, the Adirondack 29, The Adirondack Mountain Club’s Firetower Challenge. There's all these great hikes out there for every ability level. And, you know, my thought was, okay, instead of just, you know, four or five of us going out and conquering a mountain range and raising, you know, $4,000 or $5,000, let's open this to everybody. And let's give everybody the opportunity to raise awareness, raise money for caregiver support and research, and to have that emotional outlet. You know, I think that the more people we all interact with, if you ask somebody, if they have a connection with Alzheimer's disease, typically everybody's got a story, whether it's the story of their family suffering, or a friend or a loved one's family, extended family, having somebody that's been impacted by the disease. So the event kind of grew into, hey, let's open this to everybody to give everybody an opportunity to participate. And purple being the color of the Alzheimer's Association, it was a great opportunity to paint the peaks purple.
Levulis: And what was the experience like last year, when you did open it up? How many people participated? How much money was roughly raised?
Marcantonio: So last year, we had a banner first year. I've been in and around events coordination for a long time in my career, and to get 60 people to participate in a first year event, which is, again, it's not a structured event, it's you pick your peak, you pick your partners, and you go on this designated day. We had 60 people participate. We covered 23 different peaks in the Adirondacks. And we raised $18,000. Huge success.
Levulis: And so building off of that, what are the goals for this year? What do you expect for this year?
Marcantonio: So the goals for this year, you know, I'm always a shoot for the stars kind of guy. So, you know, originally it was let’s see if we can get 90 to 100 people to participate in this. And we're still you know, we're still what, 10 days out from the event, 9 days out from the event. We have 60-plus people signed up. The goal, the expectation this year was to hit a benchmark within the National Alzheimer's Association of $30,000. And, you know, there's certain things, certain perks that the event gets if we get to that fundraising level. So that's kind of where I've got my sights set for this year's event. And we're well on our way. We've got about $9,000 raised so far. And, you know, typical with events of this nature that are a little bit weather dependent. You know, hikers are a hearty bunch, but we all prefer those “sunny and 70” days. So, you know, the forecast is looking pretty good, and we're hopeful that we're going get upwards of 75 hikers and will raise that $30,000.
Levulis: And which peak or peaks will you be climbing on June 21?
Marcantonio: So this year I have the honor and privilege of hiking with a new friend of mine. His name is Chris Davies. Chris is my age. He's in his early 50s and he has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. So Chris, his son Aiden, myself and my normal group that has supported me from day one, we will be climbing Mount Colden, which is right in the heart of all the High Peaks. It is a beautiful, beautiful hike. And that's what we've got our sights set on.
Levulis: John, you mentioned you started hiking after your mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. What did you find in hiking that drew you to it and drew you to complete the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks?
Marcantonio: You know, what I found is two things. The peace in the woods, you know, it's a place where you can get out and enjoy the beauty around you. And kind of what all those are things that weighs so heavily on your mind when you're caring for somebody with a disease like Alzheimer's, to kind of let them go and just enjoy the moment and enjoy the woods and the peace and quiet and enjoy the physical challenge. You know, the challenge to conquer all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks, it takes a lot of determination, commitment and coordination. I had the pleasure of doing all 46 peaks with one of my best friends. And he was a great sounding board, and a great year to listen to me as we were hiking. And, you know, as I'm trying to release all those things, it was a great experience.
Levulis: And finally, John, if someone is interested in taking part in the Paint the Peaks Purple challenge, how do they go about doing that?
Marcantonio: So if you go to alz.org and you search for “Paint the Peaks Purple,” it's going to direct you right to my page, you can go on register there. And as soon as you register, myself or the event coordinator from the Association, Ashley Enekes, will count contact you, talk to you about what peak you plan on going to and who's going to be joining you and talk to you a little bit about that fundraising effort. Again, this event is twofold – to raise awareness by wearing your purple and having people recognize that you're out there fighting to end Alzheimer's, but it's also about fundraising. And we're raising this money to provide local caregiver support and provide dollars for research so that someday we can find a cure for Alzheimer's. Currently there is no prevention. There is no treatment, and there is no cure. And the money that we're raising, hopefully, sometime in future generations, I have an 11 year-old-son, hopefully sometime within his generation, as he becomes a senior, Alzheimer's won't exist.