Edward Jones will launch the Walk Across America, a one-time, 16-week relay-style walk across 12 states, to raise awareness about the impact of Alzheimer’s disease.

The oldest city on each coast serve as the trailheads for Walk Across America, leaving from San Diego on July 9 and from St. Augustine, Fla., on Aug. 27. In teams of eight, more than 1,000 Edward Jones financial advisors and branch office administrators will complete the 3,100-mile journey relay-style.

The teams will traverse cities, towns and open country and cross the desert, plains, river valleys and rolling hills, taking at least 5.7 million steps across America – one step for every person in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s disease

Edward Jones decided to take on this heady challenge to call attention to the country’s sixth-leading cause of death. In January 2016, the firm entered a strategic alliance with the Alzheimer’s Association, committing $4.7 million over two years to enhance the Association’s care and support programs, provide educational materials on brain health, and fund critical Alzheimer’s research and grassroots awareness efforts.

Edward Jones signed on as the first national presenting sponsor of Walk to End Alzheimer’s (which is not affiliated with the Walk Across America) and created the Edward Jones Alzheimer’s Research Fund. The firm extended the alliance in 2017 to a five-year, $12.5 million commitment. In return, the Alzheimer’s Association provides services, support and education on brain health and Alzheimer’s to Edward Jones’ clients and associates.

The Carrollton financial advisors are: Derick Newton, Fred O’Neal, Dennis Brightman, Joey Key.

Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in St. Louis, provides financial services in the U.S. and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm’s business, from the investments its financial advisors offer to the location of its branch offices, caters to individual investors. The firm’s 16,000-plus financial advisors serve more than 7 million clients and care for $1 trillion in assets under management. Visit our website at edwardjones.com and recruiting website at careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.