September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a time when over 600 international communities host a Walk to End Alzheimer’s, the world’s largest event dedicated to raising awareness and funding in support of those suffering from the disease. Birmingham is one of those communities, and Norton’s Florist is proud to be walking for the first time this year. Our team walks in honor of Debbie Pappas, wife and mother to owners Gus and Cameron.

When our family acquired Norton’s 16 years ago, Debbie was there every step of the way, working alongside Gus for the next 14 years, many of them spent courageously fighting early-onset Alzheimer’s. Despite her challenges, Debbie continued to work in the store, where she was cared for and looked after by every employee of the business. In 2016, the family made the difficult decision to move Debbie to a local memory-care facility, where she continues to make everyone laugh with her feisty remarks and fun-loving attitude.

We’re proud to be starting what we hope will be a tradition of walking for a cause that is near and dear to our hearts. We believe in serving our community, and all the better if we can make a difference for someone in our family–and the larger Alzheimer’s community–while we’re at it. We encourage you to join us on September 30 at Sloss Furnaces for the 2-mile walk, which begins at 3:15 p.m. (registration opens at 1:30 p.m.). You can also make a donation (Norton’s will be doing that as well) via our fundraising page.