Albuquerque. Baltimore. Baton Rouge. Broward. Central NY. Charleston. Cleveland. DC. Dayton. Fresno. Kansas City. Lexington. Little Rock. Milwaukee. Nashville. Omaha. Orange County. Rhode Island. Sacramento. San Francisco. San Jose. South Alabama. Southeastern Pa. Tampa Bay. Twin Cities. Ventura County. Winston-Salem.

What do these United States communities have in common? All of them were scheduled to have Parkinson’s Moving Day walks this spring. All of their walks were cancelled.

Covid-19!

We’re at the beginning of the charity walk season. Each weekend from now through the fall, you’ll find walkers in our local parks, trying to raise money for the causes that are closest to their hearts. Like everything else in America, charities are affected by the pandemic. It’s hard to have a group walk when most of the country has been under a stay at home order. If you think having fifty people in one location is pushing it, how is it possible to gather a couple of thousand folks together? The answer is, it’s not! Social distancing isn’t possible.

But, what we’ve found out in the last two months is there are still ways to connect. We’ve seen children attend school by Zoom. Work, too. Families and friends have their connections by computer. If these groups can do it, why not have a virtual charity walk for thousands?

Today is the Parkinson’s community day to have their walk. At 1 pm eastern time, you can click this link and attend a virtual Parkinson’s event. You can also find it on Facebook and You Tube.

I’ve been to seven Moving Day events and it’s always a special and emotional day. When you pass along the lakefront with a thousand other people, it’s almost a spiritual experience. I don’t know if sitting on a laptop and watching will match that, but it’s opportunity to bond with others from this community. Because of our current circumstances, it may be even more special than a normal walk.

And then there’s the money. Moving Day walks throughout the United States raises millions of dollars which is used to support programs that makes the lives of people suffering with Parkinson’s Disease better. With so many people out of jobs and struggling to make ends meet, you have to figure that charity donations are the last thing on everyone’s mind. Hopefully, virtual walks like this one, and the others you’ll see for various other causes, will remind people that money is still needed. Every little bit does help.

So at one today, turn on your computer, tablet or phone and come take a walk. You won’t even have to leave your home.

Related Post: April was Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month

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