A number of local community members will be taking part in the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual Kidney Walk, kicking off in Harmony Square, on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
Hosted by the foundation’s Brant County chapter, the walk is the charity’s largest fundraiser of the year and this September, 29 communities across the province will partake in the annual event.
With one in ten Canadians living with kidney disease, diabetes and high blood pressure being the leading causes, funds from the walk will be used to support research, education, nutrition and other crucial programs and services throughout the country.
“The funds go to research, that’s the big one, but it also goes towards things like peer support groups, education, financial support and even programs such as dialysis camps like Camp Kivita for kids, and the Lion Camp Dorset for adults,” said Liz Giacinti, president of the Brant County chapter. “The Kidney Foundation gives $200 for every patient that goes to the camps, and also for the ones in need, they’ll pay for them to attend the whole week. That’s huge because a lot of patients, they’re hooked up to a machine and often can’t go on a regular holiday, so having resources like that is great for them.”
Giaciniti, a now retired Registered Nurse who worked in the Dialysis unit at the Brantford General Hospital, said that unless someone has been personally diagnosed, or knows a loved one living with the disease, they may not know just how life altering it can be.
“As we stand, there’s no cure for kidney disease,” she said. “If you can get a kidney transplant and it works, that’s amazing because you’re given a new lease on life but it’s not a cure. You can’t live without your kidneys, so if they don’t work and they fail, unfortunately that’s the end.”
Giaciniti said that the annual walk, which has been running for around 15 to 16 years, is a chance for the community to get together for a common cause.
“There’s quite a few people in this area that have kidney disease and so this is a real chance to congregate as a community and show our support. Every year we do the walk, our numbers keep growing and last year we managed to raise around $45,000 which was amazing,” she said. “This year our goal is to raise $40,000 and while we surpassed that last year, we understand that times are tough and it’s hard for people to donate to any type of charity these days. Currently, we’re sitting at about $11,801 with seven teams and 40 participants, but we still have a little over a month to go so I think, and I hope things will start gearing up.”
On the day, registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Harmony Square and the 3km walk will kick off around 10:00 a.m. with the event wrapping up around noon.
“Before we head out on the walk, Mayor Kevin Davis, other dignitaries and a doctor from St. Joseph’s Renal Centre will be making a couple speeches. We’ll have a little workout where everyone warms up, our walk ambassador will do the ribbon cutting and then we usually have a bagpiper that pipes everyone out onto the walk,” said Giacinti. “Now, a lot of the people that come out are often dialysis patients so some of them can’t walk the 3km so we do also have a little 1km walk for those who can’t do the whole route. It’s really like a party so we’ll have cake and refreshments there, the teams get their picture taken and we have a little kids area with some games. It’s all about that sense of community and so it’s a nice feeling to see everyone meeting new people or reuniting with people they haven’t seen in a year.”
For those who are unable to participate in the walk and are looking for other ways to contribute to the fundraiser, Giacinti said that residents can bring their unwanted clothing items to Harmony Square on the day of the walk and donate them to the Kidney Clothes. As well, Knights of Columbus will be hosting an all-you-can-eat charity breakfast for the foundation’s Brant County chapter on Sunday, September 8.
Giaciniti is also encouraging people to donate what they can to local fundraising teams or even sign up as their own team by visiting www.kidneywalk.ca and clicking on Brantford.
“Those are all great ways to help but one of the main things I want to say is, please consider registering your consent for organ donation,” she said. “If you visit www.beadonor.ca it takes two minutes to register and all you need is your health card number. If more people did it, we wouldn’t have so many people on dialysis and the waitlist.”
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.
