VNA Stroll for Hospice just around the corner

VNA-Stroll-for-Hospice-just-around-the-corner The Visiting Nurse Association's 18th annual VNA Stroll for Hospice is right around the corner - Sunday, May 5th. Onsite registration begins at 12 noon and the stroll steps off at 1:00 pm at Central Park Plaza, home to the Porter Health Amphitheater, 63 Lafayette Street in Valparaiso. For advance online registration, go to www.vnanwi.org/latest-events and click on the registration link. Registration forms are also available at the Visiting Nurse Association’s Administration Building at 501 Marquette Street in Valparaiso or you may register on the day of the event. Registration is $10 per walker, with children under 18 free. Teams of 6 or more may register for $50 per team. For more information call 219-531-8049.

VNA Stroll for Hospice brings people together to remember their loved ones and to support the VNA Hospice program, helping the VNA continue to provide compassionate hospice care to patients and families facing one of life’s most difficult journeys. Anyone in the community who has lost a loved one or has been touched by VNA Hospice is invited to attend. The route is a little over two miles long, and the pace is slow and easy. Not up to the walk? Not a problem, you can skip the walk and simply relax and enjoy the park!

Individuals and teams are encouraged to collect donations in support of their walk. Go to www.vnanwi.org/latest-events to register, download pledge forms, or create your own personal fundraising page. You can include a picture and story about your loved one and then send your page link to everybody you know!

Special memorial signs in honor of loved ones will be offered to anyone collecting donations of $100 or more. The memorial signs will be personalized with your loved one’s name and placed along the VNA Stroll for Hospice route. Awards will be presented to the individual and team raising the most in donations, to the individual and team with the highest number of donors, and also to the largest team.

Ben’s Soft Pretzels will provide snacks along the way, as well as Family Express cookies at the halfway water stop. After the stroll, walkers are invited to a picnic at the Urschel Pavilion or may bring a blanket to picnic in the park. The menu includes hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs and sides dishes, as well as Culver’s Frozen Custard for dessert. Entertainment will be provided by the VNA Hospice choir and a DJ from Entertainment Express, as well as lots of kids’ activities, including a bounce house, balloon twister, photo booth, crafts, face painting, and more. The VNA Stroll for Hospice is a great way to build a new, uplifting tradition to celebrate and remember a loved one and also support VNA Hospice.

In honor of the VNA’s partnership in the We Honor Veterans program, all veterans in attendance will be given a flag pin in honor of their service and recognized as a group during the program.

This year’s Stroll for Hospice will be led by Grand Marshal Jaime Perz, a member of The Toni’s Troppers team. Jaime’s name was drawn from those who collected pledges in support of their walk last year.

VNA is the most patient-focused provider of aging, palliative, hospice and grief support services in Northwest Indiana, providing care in Lake, LaPorte, Porter, Starke and Jasper counties. VNA’s programs include VNA Meals on Wheels, Hospice Care, and the VNA Phoenix Center, providing grief support for children and their families. For more information, please visit the VNA website at www.vnanwi.org. You may also call the VNA at 219-462-5195.

Thank you to our sponsors Beta Gamma Pi, NIPSCO, The Gott Family, inHealth Integrated Care, Shive-Hattery, Elegan Custom Wear, Golden Tech, Bounce-N-Around, Brown Tire of Valparaiso, Burns Funeral Home, Details Details, Journey Senior Living, Kauffman Chiropractic, Monroe Pest Control, Moses Caregivers, Philips Ace Hardware, and Babilla Roofing & Sheetmetal.