Despite cancellations for many events involving large gatherings amid concerns for the spread of COVID-19, the Alzheimer’s Society’s first Liverpool Glow Walk pressed on.
Saturday’s event has so far raised £48,489 to help people living with dementia, which could now prove even more crucial as the government considers recommending up to four months of isolation for the elderly to protect themselves from coronavirus.
Lauren McEvoy, the operations manager for Memory Walk, told JMU Journalism: “We’ve been following government guidance quite carefully.
“We did a full risk assessment on whether we should go ahead and we thought it was safe enough to go ahead at this time. Considering that, I think we’ve had a really good turnout.”
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She added: “Liverpool has a great response. We usually do our day walk in September at Aintree. Considering this is one of our first night walks, this has been great.”
There are still three walks planned for next week in Surrey, Cambridgeshire and Warwick. Ms McEvoy said they expect to raise over £1,000,000 once all the events are complete, provided they are able to proceed.
Among the hundreds that turned up to brave the windy waterfront on Saturday were the Tully girls; three sisters from North Wales, walking in memory of their mother, Ena Tully.
While many of the walkers had pinned names to their outfits, the Tully girls had taken the extra step of printing their mother’s on their Memory Walk t-shirts and carrying her picture along the way.
They told JMU Journalism that even when she was suffering, their mother had talked about Liverpool like it was home, and they felt this was the right place for them to walk and raise money for the charity.
Pattie Roberts, one of the three sisters, said: “It’s hit the family a lot really. We lost our dad last March and we lost our mum in February, but we’ve raised £1,500 and she’s here with us. We’re team Tully.”