Participants prepare to start the Walk to End Alzheimer's last year in Cranberry Township. Alzheimer's affects more than 5 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Butler Walk to End Alzheimer's is held annually to generate awareness, raise funds and support the Alzheimer's Association.

The Butler Walk to End Alzheimer's has been an annual event for eight years, organized by volunteers and committees through the Alzheimer's Association.

Although the walk usually is a crowd event held in person, COVID-19 has changed things.

“This year, the walk is everywhere,” said Nathaniel Sofranko, a Walk to End Alzheimer's manager, “on every sidewalk, track and trail across the county.”

This year's walk is scheduled for Sept. 19.

Sofranko said with the safety of participants being the Alzheimer's Association's top priority, those who join the walk will be able to attend the event from anywhere.

“We hope to have 350 participants on 50 teams,” Sofranko said. “We currently have 41 teams and 111 participants.”

Butler's walk planning committee includes 17 county residents, according to Sofranko. Those who are part of the registered teams have been fundraising throughout the year.

Sofranko said “Walk Day” includes three elements:

- The opening ceremony will be online and include comments from local speakers. A presentation of Promise Flowers — cloth flowers used to represent the reasons why people join the Alzheimer's walk — will follow.

- Participants will then be invited to join the walk from wherever they are. A Walk to End Alzheimer's mobile app will allow people to track their distance, follow a virtual path, manage their Facebook fundraising, access association information and listen to an audio track.

- The event will conclude with an opportunity for visitors to drive through Cranberry Township Community Park, where volunteers will arrange Promise Flowers to make a Promise Garden.

“These three components bring people together in the fight against Alzheimer's,” Sofranko said. “And show that no one is alone.”

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and affects more than 5 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the Alzheimer's Association website, the Butler walk has raised $25,645 of its $42,000 goal.

Registering for the walk allows people to fundraise online through the end of the year. Money raised goes toward advancing the Alzheimer's Association's mission, Sofranko said.

Among the work the association champions is enabling critical care and support services; advancing research; and, ultimately, finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

Adapting this year's event to pandemic parameters has been a balancing act, according Sofranko. He said he's thankful for and inspired by the dedication organizers and participants are showing leading up to the walk.

“Alzheimer's did not stop when COVID-19 hit,” Sofranko said. “Neither did our participants.”

Those interested in joining the event can register at act.alz.org/Butler2020.