by Suzanne Rogers
Despite the chilly weather on March 27th, more than 150 participants came to Tower Grove Park for the St. Louis area’s second annual NEDA Walk. Combined, more than $8,000 was raised, all of which goes directly to NEDA for eating disorder research and awareness.
Miss Missouri Tara Osseck, whose platform is eating disorder awareness and prevention, attended the event and emceed during the first half of the walk as her job required her to be in Mexico, Missouri later that day. Reneigh DeBoer, Nia Instrcutor, lead the fun group warm-up that warmed everybody up after just a few minutes. Jennifer Kamer, MA, PLPC of McCallum Place emceed for the remainder of the event. Judith Shaw was this year’s NEDA Walk recovery speaker and she shared her personal story with everyone. Also an artist, Judith held an exhibit during NEDAwareness Week named “Body of Work: The Art of Eating Disorder Recovery” that reflected her experiences during her recovery process. Michelle Acord made beautiful one-of-a-kind eating disorder awareness bracelets and she donated some of the proceeds to NEDA. The community art project involved people of all ages and the raffle drawing helped to raise even more proceeds for NEDA. None of this would have been possible without the help of the many volunteers who sacrificed their time over the past year to help organize this year’s walk.
We hope that next year’s walk will be even more successful. We’re already planning on holding the 2011 NEDA walk later in the year so that there is no chance of needing fleece pullovers, coats, gloves, and hats. Thank you to the St. Louis area’s NEDA Walk Coordinator Kate Evett, RD, LD and all of the volunteers who contributed their time and resources. Thank you to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center’s Eating Disorder Program for attending and setting up a booth as well as McCallum Place. And thank you to all of you who participated in the walk. You have all helped to raise awareness for eating disorders in our community and we hope to continue doing so year-round.
All of the photos from this year’s walk can be viewed by going to our page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mccallumplace; click on the “Photos” tab and then select the “NEDA Walk 2010” photo album. You do not have to have a personal Facebook account to view the photos. In addition, NEDA has selected a few of our photos from the walk to be placed on their website. Go to their website at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org; select “About us” and then scroll down to “Photo Gallery” and select the “NEDA Walks” photo album.
