More than a thousand people donned blue shirts and walked through Balboa Park Saturday morning to recognize the growing number of San Diegans living with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. Each year, Alzheimer’s San Diego hosts its annual Walk4ALZ, their largest fundraiser of the year, where every dollar stays in San Diego County for local Alzheimer’s support and research. Although the walk is free, the nonprofit had raised nearly $415,000 toward its half-million dollar goal as of Saturday morning. “It’s a great way to get an introduction to our organization, to get to know what we’re all about,” said Eugenia Welch, president and CEO of Alzheimer’s San Diego. “Alzheimer’s can be very isolating. … It can be really powerful to realize you’re not the only one going through it.” The nonprofit was started to help people impacted by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia navigate the complicated, expensive and emotional challenges that come with the diagnosis, providing not only free programs for people who have dementia, but also for their caregivers, Welch said. “You don’t have to have a diagnosis of dementia to call us,” Welch added. “If you’re concerned about memory and brain health, call and ask to speak with someone on our staff, and we can help guide you with what’s going on.” Stop signs are covered in family photos during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Krystal Wetsel, of San Diego, center, holds a sign in support of her late grandfather Donald during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) People hold signs supporting loved ones during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Jeannie Steffen, of San Diego, holds a pinwheel with all the names of those affected by Alzheimer’s, including her husband, during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) A butterfly with a family photo seen during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Chuck Woodson, of San Diego, walks with purple balloons in honor of his wife Elaine during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Show Caption1 of 6Stop signs are covered in family photos during Walk4ALZ, San Diego’s annual walk to support San Diegans living with dementia and their caregivers, at Balboa Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Expand South Park resident Leslie Kilpatrick has been walking for a decade now on Mimi’s Marchers, a team she created in honor of her mother, Mimi Mitchell. “There’s so many stages that you have to go through coming to grips with what’s going on,” Kilpatrick said. “It was a really hard, arduous struggle.” Kilpatrick said that Alzheimer’s San Diego helped break through the barriers often created with dementia diagnoses. “Sometimes when you deal with issues around brain health, there’s shame, and it was really nice to go to a community where other people understood what you were going through,” she said. Her mom has since died, but Kilpatrick has continued walking in her honor. Her team of 21 walkers raised more than $100,000 for the cause over the last 10 years. Like Kilpatrick, Ken Darling’s team Dorothy’s Darlings honors his mother, who he cared for for 15 years. “This is my 17th year walking,” Darling said. “To come down here, it’s just a community feeling. … I just always wanted to give back and help in some way.” Among the sea of blue shirts — the color symbolizing the blue forget-me-not flower — was a group in orange uniforms. About a dozen of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Detail and a couple of their search-and-rescue dogs were participating in Saturday’s walk in honor of former Sheriff Bill Kolender, who died nine years ago after battling Alzheimer’s, and the various people they’ve rescued over the years who had dementia. Multiple members from The Men Remember team — composed of only men whose loved one, usually a spouse, was affected by dementia — said that Alzheimer’s San Diego’s support groups saved them. “They didn’t make it easy, but Alzheimer San Diego made it less difficult,” said team captain Mark Lieberman, whose wife, Caryn, battled Alzheimer’s for nine years. “You can’t do it alone, and where do you turn? You ask your family or your friends for help. The problem is they don’t know what it’s like.” Lieberman said it was his fellow support group members who helped him cope with his wife’s passing last year, including Gary Weller, whose wife Linda began noticing symptoms in 2011. “I was so frustrated, living with it but not understanding,” Weller said. “This organization really saved me.” The Men Remember was the walk’s top team earners, raising more than $150,000 this year, most of which came from the men within the support group, Lieberman noted. “My family, we were fortunate, we had the financial resources, but most people don’t because it’s expensive when someone’s really sick like this,” Lieberman added.