(Cera Gagnon leads the group in a warm-up. All photos: Stittsville Central)
The front and side yards of the Stittsville United Church welcomed the participants to the 7th Annual Stittsville Kidney Walk on September 8. The yard was set-up with tents, activity tables, stage, BBQ area, popcorn and candy floss machines, a bouncy ride and even a fire truck. All to make sure everyone had fun while taking part in this year’s 5km Kidney walk along Main Street and Funday at the Church.
As the day was set to begin, Ruth Richardson gave a pep talk to the walkers about the work that the Kidney Foundation does and how it affects many Stittsville residents. Marianne Graham also pumped the crowd with her words of encouragement – telling everyone to enjoy the day.
What would be a walk, without a warm-up from Cera Gagnon. Everyone’s muscles were definitely ready to walk after this. All the walkers departed the Church and headed north up Main Street to Poppa Sam’s Restaurant (where they enjoyed free ice cream) and then walked the same route back to the Church to enjoy a free BBQ potluck lunch.
This year saw six teams formed and a number of individuals participating all raising funds and walking on behalf of a family member, friend, or co-worker who has been affected by kidney disease. Many Stittsville businesses and organizations donated prizes and gifts for the fund raising draws.
Here are some photos in case you missed out on attending —
The top fund raising teams were: Band Against Kidney Disease $1,390.00; You’ve Got to be Kidneying Me! $515.00; Pearson-Lisak $475.00; Spiritual Sparks $431.00 and Kimini Kidneys $175.00. The individuals raising the most in the walk are: Jennie-lee Kritsch $1,140.00; Ruth Richardson $381.00; Matt Pearson $300.00; Suzanne Laniel $250.00; and, Finnegan Pickering $250.00. The total amount raised by all of the participants was $6,287.00.
The Walk is held in conjunction with the Fall Funday celebration at the Church. This year saw lots of activities in which all could participate. There was live music provided by Divided Highway, Ottawa Fire Service was on-site with their Station 81 tanker for the children (adults too) to see inside and take some photos with their local heroes. The Church provided a free BBQ lunch with community members bringing salads and other food for all to enjoy.
If you thought you missed the opportunity to donate to Stittsville’s Kidney Walk, the teams or individuals, you can still do so at the following link: https://kidney.akaraisin.com/ui/ONKW19/pledge/sponsor/start.