Goodwin Village Crace residents have put their hearts and ‘soles’ into an incredible effort to raise funds for Dementia Australia. On March 21, residents prepared to walk laps of the village over a period of twelve hours in an attempt to reach a combined 50,000 steps and, hopefully, raise $2000 towards research for a Dementia cure.
The day itself brought with it perfect weather, high spirits and a wonderful sense of community as residents gathered to make a difference for an important cause. While steps could be counted from 7am through to 7pm, the event officially kicked off at 10:30am with a lovely morning tea and a speech from Goodwin Chief Executive Officer Stephen Holmes, who said,
‘Dementia is often a disease that is not always visible, and we want to make that awareness greater so that we can all do our part to help find a cure.‘
The eldest participant, 98-year-old Michael Alder, then joined him in leading residents out the doors and around the village to continue their laps. Michael set a cracking pace, saying,
‘It’s a good cause and it’s good exercise for us as a group.’
With the average age of residents at Crace sitting at 79, it was an impressive sight to see so many putting the ‘pedal to the pavement’. A delightful surprise was the WIN News team capturing the moment on camera. Organiser Sue Brudenall was excited to see reporters taking the event so seriously, a sure sign of how big the fundraiser had become.
Following the fantastic turnout, Sue was delighted to announce a final step count of 272,040, or approximately 136 kilometres walked. Funds raised totalled an incredible $11,323, with donations still coming in.
“In each case, we achieved 5 times our stated goal. It was a splendid effort by everyone,” said Sue.
Of course, thanks must be given to Sue herself for all the work she put into making the day the success that it was. Funds will now be given to Dementia Australia to support critical research into a cure for the disease that is soon to be the number one cause of death in Australia.
A big congratulations to the residents of Goodwin Village Crace on their truly impressive achievement and the awareness it has brought to the significant cause.