Schuylkill County commissioners this week proclaimed support for the county's annual Walk to End Alzheimer's.

The walk will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Bubeck Park, Pottsville.Nearly two-thirds of Alzheimer's sufferers, some 3.2 million people, are women in their 60s, according to the proclamation.Last year, 15.5 million family members and friends provided 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at $220.2 billion, to those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.The number of people with Alzheimer's is growing. About 5 million people suffer from the disease, including about 200,000 who are under age 65. Experts estimate that up to 16 million will have Alzheimer's by 2050."The numbers are staggering," said Commissioners' Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier.He said the disease has touched every family he knows, including his own.The proclamation was attended by members of the walk committee, including co-chairwoman Lisa Breinich; Maria Todaro of Compassionate Care Hospice; Shannon Wertz of Seton Manor; Chris Brossman, also of Seton Manor; caregiver Phyllis Gallagher and her husband, John, who has early onset Alzheimer's; and Tara Moyer and her son Aidan, 8, of Cathy's Crusaders, an Alzheimer's Walk team. Moyer cares for her mother, who suffers from the disease.