A Virtual Event Meant to Bring Our Community Closer
Next week we will be sending out the official announcement about the first-ever virtual Walk for Talk to benefit the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association. We have been planning feverishly for the past few weeks to pull it all together.
It seemed ironic to me that I write this blog article on September 11, a day that tore the country apart, put doubt in our safety and showed the hatred of a few could cause so much destruction. But then, I remember it also did something unexpected. It brought us closer, people holding hands or crying together, seeking refuge in our faith, and we watched as strangers became friends, united by one horrible day that we will never forget.
The virtual walk asks our community living with a rare voice disorder, who may never encounter another person with it, to use their treadmill, walk their dog, run in the park or hike a local trail during the weekend of Oct 22-25, 2020 with two goals in mind. First goal is to fund raise, because the community cannot expect research funding, education outreach, awareness activities and support without the financial engine that drives all that.
But our second goal and just as important is our hope to build an event that will bring us all together; a single community, on a single weekend, performing a single function, for a single cause, with a single goal. We hope it connects us, those living with a voice disorder, friends and family, with others we will likely never meet, at a time when circumstances keep are driving us apart.
9/11 and the Walk for Talk are nowhere near same thing, but as I pondered what today represents, I think they both have a strong message to send…how powerful we feel when we come together.
I hope you will register next week for the 2020 NSDA Walk for Talk and help make it the biggest and best event we ever had. Then you can send us pictures to post, share with your social network and yes, fund raise if you are comfortable. Be a part of it, because when we come together, united for this singular cause, we will all feel special, welcomed and a part of something big and strong and beautiful.
Best,
Nancy
NSDA Program and Services Manager