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Hope drives SuperWalk for Parkinson's in London's Springbank Gardens

LondonTopic.ca
08/12/2008
http://www.londontopic.ca/article.php?artid=10377

With a lofty national goal of raising $2.5 million, the SuperWalk for Parkinson's is getting ready to stroll, with the London and District SuperWalk set for Springbank Gardens, Sept. 13.

When walkers lace up their sneakers for the annual SuperWalk for Parkinson's, it will be with determination and a great deal of hope that the efforts of over 12,000 Walkers coast-to-coast will make a difference in getting one step closer to a cure.

Organizers ask and answer a very important question: Why walk for Parkinson's?

"It's to ensure better care for people living with Parkinson's. It's the hope that science moves at a quicker pace than the disease. Walking for Parkinson's allows individuals to play an important role in helping to raise funds to ease the burden and find a cure," said a media release from the Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario.

The SuperWalk for Parkinson's is Parkinson Society Canada's (PSC) largest fundraising event and will take place in more than 80 communities across the country. The 2008 SuperWalk hopes to raise $2.5 million to help fund support services, education, advocacy and research for over 100,000 Canadians living with Parkinson's. This year's goal will bring the total raised over a five-year period to more than $10 million.

"It is hard to believe that we have grown from one small walk in southwestern Ontario in 1995, raising $11,000 to eight walks in 2007, raising $270,000," said Carolyn Conners, executive director of Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario. "We are optimistic that we will meet our objective of $320,000. This phenomenal growth pattern is proof of the communities' growing support and need for better services and further research to help our Parkinson's cause."