Sep. 25--SCHODACK -- This year, for their 12th birthday, Lexi and Connor Kinzelmann didn't get toys or games or books. They didn't get any gifts at all.
Instead, the twins told friends to bring the money that would have been spent on a gift to the party, after which they would donate it to the Alzheimer's Association.
The Kinzelmanns' grandfather, Thomas Stead, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when Lexi and Connor were toddlers. As they grew up, the Kinzelmann twins saw their beloved grandfather slip away as the disease took its toll.
"It was hard because he started forgetting things," Lexi said. Her grandfather had been a teacher and coach at Windham Middle School. When the disease had taken much of his ability to function, the twins would help him do simple things, like playing catch. He died in May, two months after their birthday.
The twins wanted to help other people who suffer from the disease. So they decided to make a donation rather than receive gifts.
"Our friends said, 'What are you thinking -- why wouldn't you want presents?' " Connor said. "And we just told them about the disease." Their party raised $1,000 for the Alzheimer's Association of Northeastern New York.
"They were so sincere," said Marc Kaplan, the group's director of communications and advocacy. "We saw that they could be leaders to inspire and encourage other young people to take action."
Participants in the three-mile walk on Saturday at Saratoga Gaming & Raceway will form teams and set fundraising goals. Lexi and Connor's team, called Grandpa's Warriors, chose to raise $5,000 "because $5,000 is a big goal and five was my grandpa's favorite number," Connor said.
The East Greenbush Public Library set up a section with a poster about the Memory Walk, featuring the Kinzelmanns, and a place to donate. Local banks let the twins to post a photo of them and their grandfather along with their team information Web page (www.capitalregionwalk.kintera.org).
"We feel good, and we're just glad to know that we're helping other people," Lexi said. Sharon Hong can be reached at 454-5414 or by e-mail at shong@timesunion.com. To see more of the Albany Times Union, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesunion.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Albany Times Union, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008 Albany Times Union, N.Y.