When Kari Heck was a sophomore in high school, her grandfather, Marvin Heck, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Yet Marvin remained supportive of Kari’s love for track and continued to attend all her meets, cheering from the stands.
“It was really important to have him around,” she said. “When I broke the state record, it was actually his birthday, and it was also the first time I’ve jumped over 20 feet at the Roosevelt meet. So that was really awesome to have him there and to just feel like I made him proud and show what I can do with my talents.”
And for the past three years, Kari Heck has been using her talents to raise money to aid Alzheimer’s research at Jump for Joy, an event held at the Avera Sports Institute that she started as a tribute to her grandfather.
Since it began, she has raised more than $9,000 to give to the South Dakota chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, making her the organization’s highest individual donor.
“This whole idea got started with me and my mom kind of brain-storming a way to show my grandpa just how much I appreciate him for how supportive he’s been for me throughout my track career and throughout my life,” she said.
Wednesday evening, Heck and Reid Johnson, long and triple jump coach at the University of Sioux Falls, long jumped for either lump sum donations or donations based on the length of their longest jump. Together, they raised $3,035.
“It’s amazing,” said Johnson, who attended last year’s event as a guest and immediately accepted an invitation to come jump this year. “I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do it. To be able to raise money for such a great cause is quite the honor.”
The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Its mission: to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.
In South Dakota, 19,000 people are affected by Alzheimer’s, said Jane Aspaas, Alzheimer’s Association state executive director. And with the organization being completely dependent on donations, events such as this keep the nonprofit going.
“Having someone like this join with us and help us with our expenses is what keeps our services and programs free to families in South Dakota,” she said. “We could not do it without them.”
Heck’s grandfather wasn’t able to attend this year’s event, but her aunt and uncle recorded the event for him to watch at home.
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHCsxjhtH8IGdgp_sWSy2bH0VevvQ&url=http://www.argusleader.com/article/20130612/UPDATES/306120053/Track-star-jumps-support-Alzheimer-s-research
0 comments:
Post a Comment