Silicon Valley employee utilizes company resources to raise funds for Walk

Marisol has a family history of dementia. When she learned about the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s® through her company, Cisco, she knew she had to get involved. Through her involvement she was surprised to learn there were many other people out there, like her, who were caring for a loved one living with dementia. Marisol leveraged her company to help raise awareness and funds to support Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Silicon Valley.

A family history of dementia

Marisol’s mom, Elana, has two daughters and spent most of her adult life working in a hospital. When she retired a few months ago, Elena had been full of energy, enjoying her life and independence.

Sadly, while on a walk, Elena tripped and fell, injuring her knee and requiring surgery. From then on, Elena began to have trouble with her memory, repeating herself. Unfortunately for Elana, she has a family history of dementia, as all of her aunts and uncles had the disease. Research shows that those who have a parent or sibling living with Alzheimer’s are more likely to develop the disease than those who do not have a first-degree relative with Alzheimer’s. 

Approximately 13% of Hispanics who are 65 or older have Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely than Whites to have dementia. However, almost six in 10 (57%) believe that a significant loss of memory or cognitive abilities is a normal part of aging.

Currently, Elana is still living independently but Marisol knows it’s just a matter of time before changes will need to be made. “I can tell [she has dementia],” said Marisol. “Even the doctor said she’s in the beginning stage. It will get where we have to take note of what she’s doing. She is forgetting more, repeats [herself] or just jumps to another story and relives her past over and over.”

Connecting with Walk

Marisol is the lead for the Green Team, a group of socially conscious Cisco employees who are working together to save the planet.

Through her work with the Green Team, Marisol was asked to take the lead as the local representative for Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Silicon Valley. Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. 

“Once I met Zack Suggs [the senior director for Walk to End Alzheimer’s, he showed me] there are other people,” said Marisol. “I felt like, ‘oh I’m not alone.’ I [began] talking to people and it’s like, been there done that. Finding others that you can talk to [about the disease] and get that shoulder to cry on, it’s like oh there are others like me. It was just like click click click! It was a puzzle that made sense.”

Company support and matching gifts

Once Marisol started, she couldn’t be stopped. She organized an event at Cisco to raise awareness and get her company involved in a three mile walk around the property, promoting it through companywide message boards. On the day of the event, 19 employees showed up to participate. It helped connect employees with resources they might otherwise not have known about.

“We have a gym at Cisco people forgot about,” said Marisol. “They gave me the space, [the Association] was able to come and we had the walk around the park. Just walking and connecting with [what people are] going through. [I was] thinking I was the only one. That was my favorite part – talking with other people. It’s refreshing to know there is help.”

Zack, who attended the Cisco event, shared, “It had a really great turn out. People asked a lot of questions about the disease and I was glad we could answer them. Their walk helped get employees engaged and interested in Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

“I think their walk succeeded in raising awareness which is reflected in both their turnout on the day of the event and the amount of money their company raised to support the efforts of the Association.”

Other ways to give back

Employees at Cisco have access to volunteer benefits provided by the company. First, Cisco matches employee donations dollar for dollar up to a certain amount. Second, the company will donate money towards a cause if their employee volunteers their time to help out.

This year, roughly 18 employees volunteered their time to help set up Silicon Valley’s Walk the day before the event and several members stayed to help clean up after the event ended on Saturday. Marisol shares that approximately $50 was donated per employee that helped on those days.

As of the writing of this blog, Cisco is one of the top teams in Silicon Valley raising nearly $58,000.

Start your own team

Marisol encourages other companies to do the same thing as Cisco and at the very least start a Walk team. “Reach out to other teams, even if it’s not a corporation and ask how they did their Walk,” said Marisol. “If there is no [company] funding, find resources. Reach out, get ideas, ask around and don’t be scared.”

Marisol also thinks it’s important for other companies to know that there are resources available to dementia caregivers. “For me it’s important to make people understand, hey we have this resource,” said Marisol. “Maybe you know someone in Miami that I can connect somebody with. I know if someone couldn’t help me, I would be so overwhelmed. Having that support helps.”

Looking towards 2025, Marisol is ready to bring people back next year. She’s planning on expanding the company’s engagement to include education to employees. “People are signing up that they’ll come each quarter,” said Marisol. “It helps to bring more people and to kind of say hey we’re giving this time to do something for a cause.”

The 2025 Walk to End Alzheimer’s season starts in January, be the first to get your company involved by visiting alz.org/walk or emailing norcalnornvinfo@alz.org. Learn more about company teams here.

2024 fundraising isn’t over yet! You have until December 31, 2024, to raise funds and earn prizes. Visit alz.org/walk and make a donation today.