Alzheimer’s, a disease that attacks the brain, has almost become a household name with it currently affecting 5.4 million Americans currently.

Kelly Hirschbuehler, senior, is no stranger to disease. Her step grandmother developed Alzheimer’s and passed away two years after being diagnosed from a heart attack.

“She didn’t really remember my family and didn’t know our names,” Hirschbuehler said. “She thought I was maybe a distant relative or cousin.”

Today, according the Alzheimer’s Association, every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the sixth leading cause of death, Alzheimer’s, though it cannot be cured or prevented.

That is why 27 years ago, the Alzheimer’s Association created the Walk to End Alzheimer’s to raise funds to create awareness for the disease in the St Louis chapter. Over the years, the walk has changed drastically with new locations popping up across Missouri and Illinois.

“St Louis handles a lot of the walks in and throughout the community now,” Kathleen Davis, walk manager for the St Louis Walk to End Alzheimer’s said.  “We grew a few locations and people are able to have more access to the walks across the state.”

On Saturday, Aug. 10, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place in downtown St Louis at the Scottrade Center. The goal for the event is to raise $1,000,000 and currently has 2,966 participants and 403 groups attending.

Davis decided to take action against Alzheimer’s as the walk manager for St Louis after her grandmother was diagnosed and passed away eight years later.

“When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, we saw that Alz took away the person that she was and the person she could be,” Davis said.

Davis is looking forward to see the variety of ages at the walk all coming together to share a sense of hope knowing that they’re not alone in the journey to defeat Alzheimer’s.

Denise Elam Dauw, head of the Rockwood team, has participated in the walk for five years raising money in support of her grandmother, Sarah Zimmerman, who was diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer’s.

“This disease has touched several of our staff members, including our superintendent and Rockwood has become more vocal and prevalent in our community,” Elam Dauw said.

In response, MHS began a two-day fundraiser called Casual for a Cause where staff could donate $5 and dress casually. In the end, $613 was raised over the course of two days throughout the school which will go to Rockwood Team for the walk.

“We didn’t know how much involvement there would be or how much money we would raise but our school raised more money than two of the other Rockwood schools participating combined,” Brittany Sharitz, head of the fundraiser, said.

Sharitz wishes for students to not just learn about Alzheimer’s, but to show support of those who are in troubling circumstances or are affected by other illnesses and diseases.

“Even if Alzheimer’s isn’t an association that you’re interested in supporting, there are so many other good causes and ways to get involved and show your support for organizations you do care about,” Sharitz said.