Team Someone Special at Walk4ALZ 2017.
Annie Clark-Durkin is a sucker for a good cause.
As Walk4ALZ team captain of Someone Special, Annie always jumps at the chance to share her story and explain why she supports Alzheimer’s San Diego.
“Initially I began walking because my mother Jackie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1997,” Annie explains. “She was such a gentle woman and it broke our family’s hearts that she had to travel the path of forgetting.”
But Jackie’s path wasn’t the most straightforward. She had initially been diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, which does not always turn into dementia. However, while Annie accepted that it could (and did) become Alzheimer’s, her dad had a harder time dealing with what was happening to the love of his life.
“My feeling was that if Mom was heading down the path of Alzheimer’s, it was even more important for her friends and family to know what was going on so that they could be there for her. I probably made my dad mad, but I told her brother and all their friends what was going on, and much to my relief, they all rallied around her and went the extra mile to accept and love my mom even more,” Annie explains.
In 2002, a year before she passed away, Annie decided she needed to do something to help. She signed up for a walk in San Diego and created her team, Someone Special. Ever since, Annie has made it her mission to raise money for Alzheimer’s San Diego so that others may can have the resources they need to help their loved ones.
“It seemed to be the best way I could help,” Annie states. “Over the course of 16 years I have had a wonderful group of friends and family who walk with me on our team.”
Throughout the years, Annie has perfected her fundraising ways. Each year her team continues to do better than the year before.
“There are so many great ways to raise money for this cause.” says Annie. “I always personalize my web page and send an email to EVERYONE on my email list — the worst thing the recipients can do is delete the email. I also utilize social media on a regular basis to tell a story about my mom to remind my friends that I would love more donations.”
But her favorite way to fundraise and get the word out is to print up business cards that say “I’m a SUCKER for a good cause”. She includes a picture of her mom and the link to her Walk4ALZ page, and gives out tootsie roll pops with each card she hand out! Who doesn’t like a tootsie roll pop?!
“My goal is to fit fundraising into my life without having it interfere with my life. I fill in the holes of free time (whether they are big or small) with one fundraising task or another until it all gets done,” says Annie.
