Sprint Into Summer: Small Town, Big Heart

Sprint Into Summer in Pierson, Manitoba took place on June 6^th, 2015. It was beautiful weather and they had a great crowd with energy that couldn’t be beat. Registration came first, and then the kick-off with a couple of speakers, including Bert Blackbird who made a surprise appearance, and the K-6 Choir who sang a few numbers. Sprint Into Summer is a family event with walking and running options for all ages and abilities. A few participants are suffering from HD and participate in their wheelchairs, as well as young children who participate in strollers. There was also a barbeque dinner, prizes, and a band to play at the dance that took place after the walk.

It was truly a day for family and friends to gather and raise money and awareness for HD, with around 180 people from this small town coming out to the event. Organizers, Terri Alphonso and Cindy Horrigan shared that an overwhelming amount of people in Pierson have a connection to the challenges of Huntington disease, “With so many being affected, or being close to a family that is affected, it’s easy to feel like there is nothing you can do to help. This event gives the community an opportunity to make a difference”.  Everyone seemed to get involved with volunteering for the event! Whether it was individuals bringing a salad, the grocery store donating food, or the fire department barbequing the food, the whole town rallied together around the cause.

The event has evolved over the last three years. Last year, the organizers took advantage of both floors of their venue but found they lost some energy from the guests, “Everyone being all together this year made a huge difference in the vibe of the evening. Everyone had fun”. Their advice is to understand that you can’t please everyone- all you can do is put on a fun event and raise money for the cause.

Although Pierson and the surrounding community is going through a challenging time with the downturn in the oil industry and recent flooding, the generous participants helped raise $12,000 and climbing. Organizers again, attribute this to the strong connection the community holds with HD. This small, community-oriented place is responsible for another successful event- making a difference in the lives of people with HD. 

To see photos from the event, click here.

Durham Region Walk to Cure

As this year’s Chapter Development Assistant at the Huntington Society of Canada, I was fortunate enough to attend a couple events last weekend with Sally Litchfield. I attended the Peterborough Walk on Saturday, May 23, which was a walk down the main street followed by a fun afternoon of bouncy castles and games that raised over $20,000 for Huntington disease.

The next day in Bowmanville, over 100 participants began arriving for the Durham Region Walk around 10am, greeted each other and spent time catching up before the walk started. There was an atmosphere of family as everyone gathered for the fundraiser. Organizer, Bunny Clark, was prepared and excited for the event to begin with the online fundraising total already over $10,000.

Once the guest speakers, Spider Jones, Adrian Foster – Mayor of Bowmanville, John Henry – Mayor of Oshawa, and Lorne Coe – Regional Councillor from the Town of Whitby, had shared their motivations and gratitude for the event, the participants set off on their walk with enthusiasm. With the use of a banner and signs, the walkers (and quite a few dogs) walked 3 km raising awareness in their community and raising money for HD. They returned to the park for a barbeque and many other activities and opportunities to raise funds, bringing the total raised by the event to approximately $18,000.

People attending the event had the opportunity to take photos saying who they were walking for, as everyone there had some connection to Huntington disease. Whether they were there to support a friend, an entire family, or to find a cure, events like the Durham Region Walk take us one step closer to that goal. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of the progress this weekend. I learned a lot about the HD community and got a taste of what it takes to put on a successful event.

For updates about this event and others like it, visit www.huntingtonsociety.ca/events/.