Aileen Lovett was four years old when her grandfather, Charles Robinson, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she watched the memory-loss affliction ravage him most of her life. 

“When you’re young, you don’t understand what that means. As I got older, I started to understand more and more [about Alzheimer’s],” Lovett, a staff member at the Alzheimer’s Association, said.

Lovett, who is so committed to stopping the disease that ended her grandfather’s life, earned a minor in gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked in the field for two years.

That is why she will participate in the 2014 Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Oct. 11 on the North Shore near Heinz field.

“My goal is to make sure no family has to go through the stress of Alzheimer’s,” Lovett said.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., with pre-event festivities such as Zumba. Radio station BOB FM will be broadcasting live at the event, and Representative Mike Doyle will talk about his support of Alzheimer’s legislation.

Melissa Roberts, the event coordinator for the walk, is working the event for the third straight year and her favorite part of it is the Promise Garden ceremony.

“It’s an opportunity for people to honor those who are living with the disease, and remember those who have passed from [it],” Roberts said.

Each person who comes to the walk gets to select a pinwheel flower of four colors: blue represents those who have Alzheimer’s, purple is for someone who has lost a loved one to the disease, yellow represents someone who is currently supporting or caring for someone with the disease, and orange is for everyone who supports the cause and vision of a world without disease.

Suzanne Weessies, a family services coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association, is working the Walk for the first time and believes it brings awareness to the cause.

“Most of the people who walk are people who are directly affected [by Alzheimer’s. They] spend months, even the whole year between walks raising money and awareness in their communities. It’s almost a celebration on the day of the event,” Weessies said.

The walk officially begins at 10 a.m. There are two routes used for the walk; a route that is a full mile and another route that is two and a half miles.

Point Park registered a walking team in last year’s Walk to End Alzheimers. No word was reached on whether students or alumni are walking in this year’s event.

“The routes do start together. We want to make sure people of all abilities are able to participate in our walk, and we made a shorter route for those who can’t complete the full two-and-a-half miles,” Roberts said.

There will be a live concert by the Blues Devils, a classic rock and blues band. Bob Sebastian, who plays lead guitar and does vocals for the band says the group was created for one reason.

“We’ve been together for four years and we got together with playing [music] to raise money for charities, and we play as many events as we can,” Sebastian said in a phone interview

The main symptom of Alzheimer’s is memory loss. In 2010 the disease played some role in the deaths of 500,000 Americans, and in 2014 an estimated 700,000 will die from the disease.

Of Americans aged 65 and older, one in nine has Alzheimer’s. One in three people aged 85 and older has the disease.

The people who work at the Alzheimer’s Association have their reasons to eliminate the disease.

 “My reason to end Alzheimer’s is for the future,” Roberts said.

Weessies has worked personally with many families by caring for those with Alzheimer’s.

“It’s a vicious, horrible disease that should be gone so no one you love has to go through this,” Weessies said.

To learn more about the event, give donations or volunteer, log on to act.alz.org