Mary has cared for her mother, who is living with Alzheimer's, for nearly two decades. Jen Price lost her mother to the disease last November after her father served as primary caregiver through their 52-year marriage. And Cassie is still fighting to get her mother-in-law a proper diagnosis. All three Chicago-area volunteers say they will be back on the ground when the Chicago Walk to End Alzheimer's returns on October 3.
Their stories, first shared with the Chicago Tribune, illustrate why the annual walk has grown into the world's largest event raising funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research, according to the Tribune's reporting. The event is held in more than 600 communities nationwide, and nationally it raised more than $112.4 million in 2025, according to the Alzheimer's Association. In Illinois alone, an estimated 250,000 residents age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's, supported by 311,000 unpaid family caregivers who provide 480 million hours of care valued at $9.84 billion, per the Alzheimer's Association's state data.
Decades of Caregiving, Year After Year
Mary's mother raised five children between the ages of 7 and 13, and Mary has since spent nearly 20 years caring for her as Alzheimer's progressed, according to the Tribune's account. She has advocated for her mother's medical and transportation needs throughout that time and says speaking up matters. “Caregivers must speak up for loved ones,” Mary said, per the Tribune. She also helped forge a partnership between the Alzheimer's Association and the Chinese American Service League, which the Tribune reports has provided culturally sensitive resources for Asian families.
That collaboration builds on work already underway in Chinatown, where the Chinese American Service League offers bilingual counseling, consultations and Savvy Caregiver Express training tailored to Asian families navigating dementia care, according to SHARE Network Chicago. For Mary, the annual walk itself has become something to look forward to. “Walk day brings people together to support one another,” she said, according to the Tribune, and she has participated year after year.
A Diagnosis Delayed, a Family Adjusting
Cassie's family knows firsthand how hard it can be to get answers. She experienced difficulty securing a diagnosis for her mother-in-law, the Tribune reports, and now emphasizes early detection and caregiver advocacy in her own outreach. At home, she helps her father-in-law decompress and even helps apply his wife's makeup, small acts of support the Tribune highlighted as part of daily caregiving life.
Cassie's family attended their local walk for the first time last year, and this October she is going further: she plans to close her business for the day so she and her colleagues can attend together. She also wants people to know that showing up does not require a donation. “People can attend the walk as allies without donating,” Cassie said, per the Tribune's reporting.
From Loss to Leadership
Jen Price's involvement began under painful circumstances. She encountered Alzheimer's Association representatives at a corporate event shortly before her mother's death, and became involved with the organization about 13 months before the Tribune's story published. Her mother died from Alzheimer's in November 2025, and Price now supports her father, who had served as her mother's primary caregiver throughout their 52-year marriage.
Price has since taken on a leadership role, chairing the Chicago Walk to End Alzheimer's and leading her local walk. She said the funds raised support research into new treatments and provide resources for caregivers, according to the Tribune. “Walk day makes participants feel supported and not alone,” Price said, describing the event as a positive and supportive environment. She also noted that many people want to help but simply need to be asked directly.
The Medical and Financial Stakes Behind the Walk
The funds raised by walkers like Mary, Cassie and Price arrive during a pivotal stretch for Alzheimer's research. The FDA granted traditional approval to two disease-modifying therapies that clear beta-amyloid plaques to slow early Alzheimer's decline, lecanemab in July 2023 and donanemab in July 2024, according to Alzheimer's Disease International. Nationally, more than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, and nearly 12 million unpaid caregivers support them, per the Tribune's reporting.
The toll on those caregivers is well documented. State health figures from 2024 show that 64.2% of Alzheimer's family caregivers in Illinois suffer from chronic health conditions and 29% experience depression, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Nationally, 70% of unpaid family caregivers say coordinating medical and social care services is a major source of personal stress, per a report cited by American Medical Compliance. Projected U.S. health and long-term care costs for people living with Alzheimer's or other dementias are estimated at $409 billion in 2026 and are expected to approach $1 trillion by 2050.
What Walk Day Actually Looks Like
Walk day traditionally includes a Promise Garden ceremony, in which participants carry color-coded flowers symbolizing their individual relationship to the disease, whether they are caring for someone, have lost a loved one, or are supporting research as an ally, according to Visiting Angels. Illinois has also moved to strengthen care standards more broadly: under a state law enacted in 2022, direct care employees and contractors with the Department on Aging's Community Care Program must complete specialized Alzheimer's and dementia training before providing home care, according to the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus.
Chicago has felt the disease's reach beyond individual households, too. In June, DePaul University alumnus Walter Parazaider, founding saxophonist of the band Chicago died at 81 following an Alzheimer's fight. The Chicago Walk to End Alzheimer's is scheduled for October 3, and organizers say those who want to take part, whether as a donor, a team member or simply an ally, can register at alz.org/walk.
