Volunteers, dignitaries and residents piled into the Charlotte Villa retirement home as the Grand River Council on Aging (GRCOA) announced the date and details of the Brantford Grand Parade on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
The Kiwanis Club of Brantford will once again be hosting the fourth annual fundraising event which will take place at the Kiwanis Field behind Pauline Johnson Collegiate on Saturday, September 21, 2024.
The Grand Parade is an annual family-friendly fundraiser walk that helps support local charities who provide essential care and service for aging citizens across the country.
Funds raised from the walk will go towards residents in the community and will help maintain essential programs and resources to keep seniors engaged, informed and connected throughout the city.
On the day of, participants of all ages and mobility are encouraged to walk or roll the Kiwanis track, or for those who can’t make it, they can participate on their own.
“The parade really offers flexible participation opportunities, whether it’s on the track at Kiwanis field, which is beautiful and smooth and perfect for walking, rolling and running,” said Linda Moyer, Administration Coordinator for the GRCOA. “Or there are people who would prefer to just do the walk on their own, or they’re not going to be in town, so they’re going to walk where they are and that’s a wonderful thing. We also have our Parade at Home Challenge, and that sees the local retirement homes participate in the home where the seniors are. …It’s a wonderful celebration because they have entertainment and they bring in ice cream and all sorts of wonderful things. The seniors really enjoy having that opportunity to roll or walk around the premises and be part of the parade so it’s great we get to bring the parade to them.”
Since the event began in 2020, the Grand Parade has raised nearly $90,000 in support of the GRCOA and this year, event organizers are hoping to recruit 25 teams and 100 walkers to help raise $30,000 or more.
As of August 1, there are currently 18 teams and 38 walkers that have signed up to fundraise and with their help, along with sponsorship dollars, the GRCOA has raised 23 per cent of their goal with $7,032.
“Right now we’re at $4,000 in sponsorship, and with many other businesses that we’ve been reaching out to, we are really confident we can reach our sponsorship goal of $5,000. I want to acknowledge our lead sponsors, Charlotte Villa and Riverview Terrace,” said Annette Minutillo, a member of the GRCOA board of directors. “Our two rest station sponsors are Chartwell Tranquility Place and Briarwood Gardens, with their sister facility, Telfer Place. We are also generously supported in goods and services by Co operators, McNaughton Agency, Brantford Apparel and the Brantford Brant Paramedics.”
As far as what to expect for the event day, check in will begin at 10:00 a.m. and the walk will start at 11:00 a.m. At noon, a light meal will be served and the event is set to wrap up by 1:00 p.m.
Lucy Marco, President of the GRCOA said that the event will help the non-for-profit organization carry out essential work in the community.
“I want you to know that we’re the voices of lived experience of the residents in our communities. We are sharing the impacts of aging with those who are planning for the future of this community, for our children and our grandchildren and so that’s what we do in our work on the Council on Aging and it’s essential,” she said. “In order to do that, we need to know that we can look after getting the information related to the fact that by six years from now, 2030, 35 per cent of our population is going to be 55 plus, and we’re not necessarily going to be around for the next ten to 20 years. It’s important that we get the work done now to keep informing in the future as people age.”
She said that one of the biggest challenges the GRCOA faces, is developing sustainable funding sources.
“That funding is used to what we call and develop an age-friendly community for a lifetime, because it’s for everyone from five to 105. When we plan for the future, we are planning for everyone, and we’re all going to age from the time we’re born until the time we go,” said Marco. “The Grand Parade is our signature fundraising event and we’re really looking forward to it being the valuable resource for funds to keep going. We are encouraging participants to invite their friends, their family, the people that live around them, and their neighbours, to get involved with us. Become active with us and support us, the charities, the Grand Parade itself is going on in 32 locations across Canada and the funds that are raised in each location stay in that location.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
