AMHERST — University of Massachusetts Amherst students and faculty in the department of communication disorders will join a 1.4-mile Parkinson’s Unity Walk in New York City’s Central Park on April 23 to raise funds for Parkinson’s research.
Lisa Sommers, one of a dozen from UMass who plan to participate, is director of the Center for Language, Speech and Hearing and a clinical assistant professor of communication disorders at UMass.
“We’re participating to help raise awareness of the disease and we are particularly pleased that 100 percent of the funds donated for the walk go toward research,” she said.
The UMass team’s goal was to raise $2,000, and they have already surpassed it, according to Sommers. The group has also found items to donate to a drawing among those who donate to the Unity Walk, including photos by local artist Jonathan Sherrill of Leverett and a quilt made by Lillian Olsen of Belchertown.
Olsen has Parkinson’s herself, but pushes herself to do things she finds difficult, including quilting, according to Sommers.
“I’ve hand-sewn since I was a kid and it’s something I’ve done before,” Olsen said, adding that the disease has led her to switch to machine sewing. “I’ve donated quilts to the Survival Center, to the hospital and other places. It keeps me active and keeps my mind occupied. When Lisa started talking about the Unity Walk, I thought this is a chance to give back again and I had a quilt I had just finished.”
Sommers specializes in therapy designed for people with Parkinson’s disease. She and her students offer classes and coping skills to help patients with speech, swallowing and other challenges related to the disease.
Students have a window into what it feels like to live with the disease, she said.
For more information, visit http://support.unitywalk.org/site/TR/Walk/General?team_id=1398&pg=team&fr_id=1040.