NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, organizers of the Parkinson’s Unity Walk thought the annual fundraising event could still go on as normal the following month. But as the coronavirus continued to wreak havoc on the world, it became clear that the Parkinson’s Unity Walk wasn’t going to happen as planned for 2020 and again in 2021.
This year, the Parkinson’s Unity Walk is back for its 28th year on Saturday after a two-year in-person hiatus and organizers are excited about the return to the live event.
“It's so interesting every time I tell somebody about the 28th walk, I take “in person” and make it capital.” Carol Walton, Executive Director of the Parkinson’s Unity Walk told 1010 WINS' Sharon Barnes-Waters. “That's one of the biggest things is that we are back and we are in person.”
While the excitement builds over seeing new faces and old friends in-person, organizers are ensuring precautions are still in place for the walk in Central Park.
“We really want people to know that we are trying to do everything we can to make people feel more comfortable,” Walton said. “The booths are farther apart. We have seating sections that are farther apart. We have masks for people. We have sanitizing stations. We're doing everything we can even though we are outside to make people feel more comfortable coming back to the park.”
The Parkinson’s Unity Walk is the largest single-day grassroots fundraiser for Parkinson’s research in the United States with every penny of the millions raised going to research on the disease. But the walk offers a lot more than just funding.
“The Walk is a day of education and community. The Walk offers one-stop shopping for the person with Parkinson’s. Every resource you may need on your Parkinson’s journey is at the Walk,” Walton explained. “Participants may not absorb everything in one day, but the contacts and resources are available on unitywalk.org year-round for your education.”
For people like Donna Leipzig living with Parkinson’s, that community and education is important, especially as she takes up new hobbies that aid with mobility.
“[My brother] started training me one on one and boxing. And with that, I did feel much better. You know, [Parkinson’s is] there. It's gonna always be there. But you’ve got to fight it. Literally,” said Leipzig. “You have to fight. You can't allow it to get you down. I don't run anymore but I box.”
Others will be boxing too on stage at the Unity Walk, a popular occurrence at the event each year. Along with returning favorites like boxing demonstrations, the Unity walk will feature a new partnership with a platform called Mediflix which is a new streaming service featuring health videos that deliver “information, inspiration, strategies, and innovation for patients and caregivers living with chronic diseases.”
In the past 27 years of its existence, the Unity Walk has raised over $28 million and has funded hundreds of studies all supporting the goal to find a cure for Parkinson’s. This year’s walk will take place on April 23rd and for people like Maryum “May May” Ali, daughter of the late Muhammed Ali and Parkinson’s walk ambassador, the return to some level of normalcy with the event is something to look forward to.
“I'm looking forward to meeting new people, seeing new faces, seeing old friends and just connecting with folks. You can just see their journey on their faces and be there to support them and encourage them to keep going,” Ali said. “It's just all smiles. It's probably the only event I go to where it's just so loving. Such a loving, warm event.”
To register and donate and for more information about how to join us for the 2022 Parkinson’s Unity Walk, visit unitywalk.org or call (866) 789-9255.
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