The Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association (SBIA) is holding its annual Brain Boogie walk/run/dance fundraiser at five locations across the province, with the Moose Jaw event taking place in Crescent Park on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m.
The event is open to all, with a lunch to follow and donated prizes for participants. Registration for the Brain Boogie is through SBIA.ca, and prize donations will be accepted up until the event.
"The annual Brain Boogie is important for a few reasons," said SBIA executive director Glenda James. "Firstly, it's our major fundraiser. Many people are under the delusion that the social safety net in this country will completely take care of everyone, and it doesn't, at least not the way they think it does. So, we need to fundraise in order to continue to offer our programs and services."
With the money they raise, the SBIA is able to hold exercise, walking, drumming, coffee and conversation, and other social groups for brain injury survivors in six cities across the province.
"Our programs help people develop a new community, because unfortunately when an accident happens, there's this initial gathering that happens in the hospital, but then everyone moves on with their lives. And for the person who now has an acquired brain injury, their life could have changed pretty drastically and it could be years before they get out of rehab. By that time, their sense of community and friendships are often pretty distant."
James said the Brain Boogie event, aside from fundraising, is also an important community gathering for anyone whose life has been affected by an acquired brain injury. SBIA events are especially important for people who live in rural areas, giving them a chance to travel and spend time with others who understand what they're going through.
"We're an organization started and still supported by brain injury survivors and their families," James explained. "When you support us, you aren't supporting some anonymous organization with a head office in a distant place. This is something that brain injury survivors and their families are in charge of, so when we get together for these events, it's like a family reunion."
The final reason that the Brain Boogie is important, James noted, is that despite recent positive developments in awareness around the long-term effects of concussions, for example, most people remain unaware of how easy it is to acquire a brain injury — and how profoundly such injuries can change lives.
All it takes is a slip, a fall, a hit, or a crash. Some people don't even hit their heads, but fall in such a way that they sustain brain trauma anyway. Others are merely roughhousing with family or friends and bump their heads at a funny angle — only to discover they've injured themselves in a way that requires permanent lifestyle adjustments.
"The whole attitude towards little kids in sports, for example, has changed, because we realize that [blows to the head are] not healthy. It's really a matter of raising awareness, just like in sports. Players used to say casually, 'Oh, I just got my bell rung,' and now we understand more about what that actually does.
"So, we hope to have lots of people out to join us for this Brain Boogie walk in Crescent Park."
Purple Thursday symposium/conference in October
Another major event coming up for the SBIA, as part of their partnership with Royal Purple, is a symposium on'Purple' Thursday, Oct. 19 at TCU Place in Saskatoon. Anna Maria Tremonti is participating in an intimate evening event following a full day of conference on the Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury.
More information on the Purple Thursday symposium is forthcoming, but tickets are on sale now through the SBIA website.
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