David Rutley, MP for Macclesfield, attended the second ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ event in Tytherington on 18th June, to help raise awareness of the issues faced by Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers and carers, and to highlight the need to make Macclesfield more “Dementia Friendly”.
David gave his strong support to the event, which once again encouraged local residents to walk one mile in support of this important cause. The event was successfully organised by Mrs Jean Atherton, and local volunteers, and Cllr Beverly Dooley, Mayor of Macclesfield, participated in the walk.
This year’s event also featured the “Knit A Mile Scarf”, which was added to the event to remember those who couldn’t be there. The scarf was made up of seven thousand separate squares, with contributions sent from as far away as Scotland and Buckinghamshire. It was impressive to see how the event gathered support from so many people and from different parts of the country.
Speaking about the ‘Knit A Mile Scarf’, Mrs Atherton said: “The idea was to get everyone to knit a simple square, which they could dedicate to someone they may have lost or someone they know. These squares would then be joined together to create a mile long scarf, to highlight the scale of the problems faced by carers and sufferers of this disease. Each square represents the small gesture anyone can make to help those in need, and when joined together, knit the community together and show how everyone can make a difference and help one another. That kindness is never forgotten.”
After the event, David said: “Well done to Jean Atherton and all the volunteers that made this event possible. It is good to see even more people support the Walk A Mile In My Shoes event after last year's success. The new Knit A Mile Scarf initiative meant that even more local residents could help raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer's disease and the challenges faced by the families affected by these conditions.”