COCC is ‘planting’ a Promise Garden of pinwheels to mark next Sunday’s Central Oregon Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Jillian Fortner will have a report on NewsChannel 21 at Five

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In advance of the Central Oregon Walk to End Alzheimer’s next Sunday, Central Oregon Community College is “planting” a temporary Promise Garden of the flower-like pinwheels that walkers carry to signify their connection to the brain disease.

COCC will have up to 100 pinwheels installed at 5 p.m. Monday in front of the college’s Health Careers Center on the Bend campus. Members of the public are invited to visit and view the garden.

“This is meant to raise awareness of the disease and create a tangible connection to Alzheimer’s for our staff, faculty, students and the broader community,” explained Jennifer Chance, COCC enrollment specialist and community engagement chair for the walk’s planning committee. “It symbolizes a promise to work toward a cure with advocacy, support and remembrance.”

Jillian Fortner talked Monday with a COCC official and walk organizer to learn more. Her report is coming up on NewsChannel 21 at Five.

A team of COCC faculty and staff, currently comprised of 13 members, is walking to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s research event, Chance added.

The Promise Garden will be relocated to Bend’s Riverbend Park on Sunday for the one-mile walking event, with free registration starting at 11 a.m.

The event uses four color-coded pinwheels: Purple representing someone who has lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s; yellow representing someone caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s; blue representing someone living with Alzheimer’s; and orange denoting participants who may not have a direct connection to the disease but who support the movement.

Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

For more information, contact Jen Chance at 541-504-2911 or jchance2@cocc.edu.