ESTEVAN — For the second straight year, the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association’s (SBIA) Brain Boogie walk will be coming to Estevan.
The event will happen Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m., with Woodlawn Regional Park’s binzebo serving as the start-finish line. Jennifer Kuchinka, a member of the SBIA board and a brain injury survivor, said SBIA executive director Glenda James and president Barb Butler are scheduled to be at the event. Participants will walk four kilometres, and lunch will be served afterward.
Kuchinka noted supporters from Regina are expected to travel to Estevan for the walk. She said she is pleased James and Butler are slated to attend, adding she has learned a lot from Butler while serving on the association’s board.
“I’m just hoping more and more people come out. Last year there was lots of kids,” said Kuchinka, who hopes the weather will also co-operate.
Estevan is one of only a few locations to host a Brain Boogie, and after the success of last year’s event, Kuchinka said she knew she wanted to host it again.
“We’ve been able to receive lots of donations and also items for raffle prizes,” she said. “So, there’s lots of community support.”
Sept. 13 also holds special meaning for Kuchinka. It will mark the 15-year anniversary of when she suffered her brain injury after being struck by a semi-trailer unit.
She noted the SBIA does a lot for people with brain injuries, including retreats in Waldheim in June and Regina in September.
She also highlighted that about four per cent of the Canadian population lives with a brain injury, when injuries due to stroke and other non-traumatic incidents are included, and more than 160,000 people in Canada sustain a brain injury each year.
To register, visit www.sbia.ca. The entry fee is $40 and participants receive a T-shirt.
