IG Wealth Management held its annual Walk for Alzheimer’s event at Mohawk Park in Brantford on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
The walk, which takes place in more than 150 communities across the country, is Canada’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Since 2015, the IG Wealth Management walk has raised over $50 million, and in 2024 alone, participants raised $6.8 million.
On Saturday, over 150 people from Brantford-Brant took part in the local walk, helping to raise nearly $50,000 for the cause.
Not only does the walk help to create awareness and education, but the funds from the events will go towards local programs and services that improve the quality of life for those living with dementia, as well as their families and their caregivers.
“Today we walk for the millions of Canadians impacted by this disease. We walk in memory, in hope and in action,” said Rob Coruzzi, Regional Vice-President of IG Wealth Management. “We’re all here because this disease has touched us in some way, and we don’t want to see it continue. I want to thank everyone in this room, all our volunteers, all our walkers, and everyone who’s maybe not even here today, but have donated to this cause.”
Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford-Brant, thanked both the Alzheimer Society of Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk, Hamilton and Halton, IG Wealth Management and the local community for showing up and supporting the walk.
“Thank you to our community for having their arms open wide and caring,” he said. “The government cannot do everything for everyone, but in a warm, loving community, we can actually do these things. Thank you for being here, for showing up, for standing up and for walking on behalf of everyone who has a loved one or a friend who goes through this, especially as we seek to find a way of stopping this [disease] from moving forward.”
Before the walk got under way, two local residents, Jackie Haigh and Joan Minnery, got on stage to share a personal and moving song, titled “I Stand For Miracles.”
Haigh, who recently released a book titled, “Brave: Paths to Gratitude, explained that she wrote the lyrics while taking care of her mother Joan, and that Minnery later offered to write the melody for her.
“I was a caregiver for my mom for my mom for 13 years, she passed away two years ago, and I wrote this song when I was taking care of her. There was a moment where I was sitting on the couch, and you know… when someone has dementia, you sit in your head sometimes mourning the person while they’re sitting right beside you,” said Haigh. “I had this moment when we were watching TV, we would always watch “Friends” together …and I wrote these lyrics because I realized I was mourning her just sitting there and “I thought, ‘wait a second, she’s right beside me, let’s just be together,’ you know?”
Following the performance, walkers headed outside for a brief warm-up before heading off on their walk around the park.
Upon arriving back at the pavilion, many participants stuck around for a brief lunch, sharing stories of loved ones and bonding over similar experiences.
Sue Arsenault, co-chair of the annual walk, said she was thrilled to see how many people turned up to support the cause.
“It’s amazing, this is just such a great turnout,” she said, “I have to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who showed up, it’s really wonderful to have them here supporting the cause.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
