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'Overwhelming support' at Walk to End ALS (6 photos)

Groups from across the county join forces to raise funds at the inaugural Simcoe County Walk to End ALS

This year’s Walk to End ALS is a bittersweet one for Susan Peacock.

This will be the first year she’s done the walk since the death of her husband Jeff from ALS.

“It’s tough for sure,” said Susan, holding back tears at the start line on Saturday morning in Barrie. “We know that he’d want us to continue to fundraise and do all we can to support everybody that has this. He battled for five years, and he was great up until last year.”

Susan says the date of the annual walk was one Jeff looked forward to every year.

“The first time we did it five years ago, he didn’t want the attention, but he came to realize that it was a great, positive focus for us to do something good with the really crappy hand that we were dealt,” she said.

Susan Peacock and the Peacock family have been raising money and awareness for the cause for years since Jeff was diagnosed. Jeff died from ALS on Aug. 23, 2018.

As of Saturday, Team Peacock were the biggest fundraisers for the event this year, raising $32,911 for the cause.

“It has been unreal, the support from our community and our friends,” said Peacock. “It was overwhelming. It’s helped us through it all. It truly has.”

On Team Peacock was another familiar face: Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey.

When Downey was first elected a year ago, he says the Walk to End ALS was the first event he attended as a newly minted MPP.

“I’ve done the walk many times and it’s something that’s important to me,” said Downey. “Jeff was a good friend of mine. He voted for me one time by blinking. He insisted on voting. So, this is more than just an official duty; it’s a personal thing for me.”

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) is a terminal disease that takes away people’s ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe on their own.

Tracy Page is the organizer of the Walk to End ALS in Barrie and Alliston. This year, the group opted to combine their efforts to host one large walk to battle the illness.

“We have joined all of the walks this year and we’re now the all-encompassing Simcoe County Walk to End ALS,” said Page. “But, we do have 34 years of walks between the two.”

Last year, Page says the walks raised more than $100,000. As of Saturday morning, she said a little more than half of the $115,000 goal had been pledged, but it was hard to tell how many pledges were going to come in on the day.

“Unfortunately it varies year to year,” she said. “Being our inaugural one for Simcoe County, we’re really not sure how many people are going to register online compared to registering in person today.”

To learn more or to donate toward the cause, click here.


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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