Alzheimer’s Walk brings out more families and awareness in new location
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
The Stratford Walk for Alzheimer’s brought out lots of families raising awareness on Alzheimer’s disease at a new location for the event.
The annual IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s took place on May 30 on a sunny Saturday morning in Veteran’s Drive Park with plenty of families, friends and individuals of all ages participating.
“It was a great turnout and I feel there's more awareness out there today and definitely additional families this year, which was great to see,” said Lori Speiran, development and community coordinator of the Alzheimer’s Society Huron-Perth.
Veternan’s Drive Park was also a brand-new location for the event, which had been held at Upper Queens Park previously.
As of June 1, the Stratford Walk raised $22,437.30 of the $35,000 fundraising goal to support Alzheimer’s Society of Huron-Perth, its programming and those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, along with their families.
The Alzheimer’s Society is about 60 per cent government funded and needs fundraisers like the Walk for Alzheimer’s to cover the other 40 per cent that keeps its programs running.
“It allows us to go into people's homes that normally wouldn't have access to different services and link them up in the community so that they're able to live at home for longer and safer. It allows us to identify problems earlier and allow recreation to come back into their life if they're socially isolated,” said Shannon Brown, in-home recreation coordinator.
“A lot of our services and programs are free of charge, so we need that funding to be able to provide a lot of our programs and services that we offer,” Speiran added.
Ahead of the walk, Stratford participants heard from Gary Hicks, who led the walk with his family including son Lucas, daughter Claire and wife Celina. Hicks praised the Alzheimer’s Society of Huron-Perth for their support in navigating Celina’s journey with Alzheimer’s.
"I told a friend one time that out of all of the people from the Alzheimer's Society that I have met, that 10 per cent of them were very, very good. The other 90 per cent are very, very excellent. Yes, they are that wonderful,” he said.
Hicks encouraged those with a loved one facing Alzheimer’s to reach out to the Alzheimer’s Society and any other support system available.
"If you are a family member or a friend, please reach out to be a source of support, as it is so badly needed and so totally important,” he said.
Before the warm-up and walk, Hicks read the poem “Do Not Ask Me to Remember” by Owen Darnell, which highlights Alzheimer’s from the perspective of someone living with it.
The Alzheimer’s Society of Huron Perth also held walks in St. Marys, Goderich, Listowel, Clinton, Exeter and Wingham. Several retirement and long-term care facilities across the counties also participated in Walk and Wheel events.
Donations towards the Stratford Walk for Alzheimer’s can be made online until July 1 via https://tinyurl.com/2026stratfordwalkforalzheimers.
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