An 84-year-old Bradley Stoke pensioner has taken on a month-long challenge to walk three times a week around Little Stoke Park to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society.
Joan Osmond, who herself lives with the early signs of Alzheimer’s and hardly left home during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, has been encouraged to get active again by son Philip, with the support of several other family members.
Joan was one of the first residents of the new town in the early 1980s and prior to retirement ran a delicatessen and fruit & veg business.
Philip said:
“The last year has been very tough for our folks, as it has for thousands of families. Sadly, Mum has spent much of the past year in bed.”
With Joan having received both her Covid-19 vaccine doses and social mixing restrictions being relaxed, Philip felt it was now safe to start walking with his mum and set her a challenge.
To his delight, she said, “Yes, let’s do it,” and he wasted no time in ordering new walking clothes and boots for her, which she was delighted to receive.
The walkathon’s initial sponsorship target of £750 was reached by 8th April, and the amount raised is now well over £1,000, heading for a new target of £1,500 by the end of April.
To support Joan’s chosen charity, search for ‘Joan Osmond April Walkathon for Alzheimer’s Society’.
This article originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 2). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
