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Hospice Dufferin raises more than $10,000 after successful Hike event at Monora Park

May 13, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The sun finally came out and provided a beautiful day for walking the trails during the annual Hike for Hospice in support of Hospice Dufferin on Sunday, May 5.

The walk took place at Monora Park along 1 km, 3 km, and 5 km trails.

“This is our 11th annual event,” explained organizing chair Dan LaCute. “This is our major fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $15,000 today through a combination of everyone who is participating and our wonderful corporate sponsors. We have round 15 different sponsors and we’ve raised around $7,000 just from our corporate sponsors. We’ve got around 50 people registered so far but it’s a beautiful day so we’re hoping to have more than 100 come out.”

The routes are different lengths to accommodate those who need to walk a shorter distance.

“We have some high school volunteers here as well as a number of us from the board as well as husbands, wives and friends who come out to help,” Mr. LaCute said.

This year, the pre-walk gathering featured a new ceremony that included a circle in which people who were grieving a personal loss were asked to join

“We are a volunteer visiting hospice that supports people from a time of diagnosis to the end of life and into bereavement,” explained Maureen Riedler, Hospice Dufferin’s executive director. 

“Our main office is in Orangeville at 30 Centre Street and we also have an office in Shelburne and we are there when people need us. This is our biggest fundraiser but beyond that, today we are also celebrating people that have helped people journey on at the end of life. It’s a circle of life ceremony. Starting with the bereaved, and the caregivers. They’ll be joining the circle of life and be recognized for their contribution. On the outside of that circle we’ll add the professional and volunteer caregivers that have helped them. On the outside of that will be the community that supports us.”

After the circle of life ceremony, walkers headed out to the trails before returning for a barbecue lunch at the pavilion.

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