Home Headlines

Share to Twitter

Click the link below to share this story to Twitter.

Share to Twitter | Login to Twitter

Please note: If you are not logged in to Twitter on this device already, the story will not be shared. You may click the "Login" link to login to Twitter.

Back to Home

WKU Students To Bike Across U.S. To Raise Awareness For Alzheimer's

Posted: 8:38 AM May 8, 2012
Reporter: Elsa Bolt

WKU Students To Bike Across U.S. To Raise Awareness For Alzheimer's

Seven members of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at WKU are about to embark on a three thousand mile journey.

It's all in hopes of raising money that will go toward finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

And as the riders pedal from Minnesota to Key West, Florida for two months straight., some of them will be thinking of their family members.

"My great aunt suffers from pretty severe dementia and she doesn't really remember anyone in the family. My grandmother has been tested for early onset Alzheimer's and it's just been kind of difficult watching her kind of slowly start to drop down a little bit," says Will Garcia, a sophomore at WKU.

Another rider is also dealing with a personal hardship. He says his great grandmother has dementia, which has been difficult on his family.

"She's gotten to the point where she doesn't really recognize people. She has moments every now and then when she kind of knows what's going on, but actually, at her husband's funeral this past year, she didn't even know what was going on and didn't even realize it was her husband that was being buried so seeing things like that, it's just been really sad," says Dylan Ward, a junior at WKU.

The upcoming bike ride is also inspired by another bike journey from two years ago.

That was one was spearheaded by a now senior, who lost his grandfather to the incurable disease.

"I just got to witness the suffering and pain that it caused my family and I just wanted to do something that would honor him," says Tyler Jury, a senior at WKU.

Other riders are just glad to help out.

"This is going to be a huge way to give back., to a disease that not many people know how awful it is," says Sam Wells, a sophomore at WKU.

The riders will officially embark on their three thousand mile journey on May 25th.

The group hopes to raise 175,000 dollars during their journey.

If you would like to donate to the cause, check out their website: bike4alz.org.