Nitta walks for Alzheimer’s awareness
Photo by Riann Fujihara
Eight juniors and two adults walked in the Family Care Giver event to support Analis Nitta in her senior project at Queen Ka’ahumanu Center on Feb. 25, 2017. The Warriors are all smiles while waiting for the walk to begin.
Junior Analis Nitta signed up ten people to participate the Family Caregiver Walk event at Queen Kaʻahumanu Shopping Center, Feb. 25, 2017, for her senior project.
“I did this because it related to my research paper really well on how physical activity, especially walking, can prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease,” she said.
Along with the walk, Nitta raised $350 through cash donations and a garage sale to donate to Maui Adult Day Care Centers. She carried out the garage sale portion with classmate Brylee Carillo. Each of the girls had their own table of belongings to sell.
“[Analis] is awesome! She really took charge of her project, and she really wanted to know how she could make it a success. She was asking really good questions, and then, once she got her direction, she just took off,” said Ms. Brooke Holderbaum, Nitta’s advisor.
The walk started at 7:30 a.m., and there was a quick pep rally before it began. The participants walked 3.5 miles with refreshment stations at different points of the walk. By the end of the day, the Family Care Giver Walk event raised approximately $45,683 from among all its participants.
The participants walked from Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, through Keōpūolani Park and back.
People who donated $35 were given a Family Caregiver Walk t-shirt and were entered in the general prize drawing. Additionally, free food, balloons and gift bags were given to all of the walkers.
“I wanted to do the walk because I knew that it was Ani’s senior project and I wanted to help her out with it. Plus the money went to a good cause, and there were other people there. It was actually really fun,” Carillo.
Although the walk was long and tiring, all of the people who went to support Analis in her project could agree that it was worth it because they assisted in spreading awareness of the disease and raising money for research, treatment, and assistance with it. It is a disease that over 5.4 million Americans have, yet many people still don’t understand the severity of.
Through this experience, Nitta also learned a lesson about time management and communication.
“I learned to not start raising money last-minute and to always communicate with your adviser and the organization you’re working with because you never know what changes can happen,” she said.
In the end, everyone who volunteered had a great time, and Nitta said that all of her hard work paid off.
