January 5, 2023 -- Windsor, Ontario. The Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County (ASWE) will hosta Skate for Alzheimer’s event, as part of the national 1926 National Skate Day for Alzheimer’s.
Steve McNeil, is a mailman who has skated 34 marathons of 19 hours and 26 minutes each, to raise
awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease. Steve will do so again on January 14th, and he is asking
Canadians to join in. Steve, 61, says he knows he will not always have the stamina to skate eight to 10
marathons each winter so he is aiming for 100 skating parties to be held on January 14th across the
country.
This year, he will skate one marathon in Kingston which will be live-streamed in various time
zones across Canada.
Steve is calling for the second Saturday in January to be the 1926 National Skate Day for Alzheimer’s and
he is inviting folks in communities across Canada to organize skating parties to support the cause and
donate $19.26 to their local Alzheimer Society.
Steve McNeil skates as a tribute to his late mother, who
died of the disease and all the caregivers looking after loved ones with Alzheimer’s. His mother was born
in 1926 thus the name of this campaign. He will step onto the ice at 12.01 AM on January 14th and skate
until 7.26 PM.
In 2019 Steve skated in seven cities and in 2020 he skated in 11 cities, adding Saskatoon and the
Maritimes. In 2022, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Steve skated in eight Ontario communities
including Garrison Petawawa, Kingston, Windsor, Peterborough, Niagara, Toronto, Orillia and
Bracebridge. He has also had the opportunity to skate on some of Canada’s most famous outdoor rinks –
Founder’s Hall in Charlottetown, Officer’s Square in Fredericton, the Emera Oval in Halifax, Calgary’s
Olympic Plaza, Vancouver’s Robson Square, Edmonton’s City Hall, Saskatoon’s Meewasin rink, Toronto’s
Nathan Phillips Square, Parc Maisonneuve in Montreal and The Forks in Winnipeg.
The Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County will be hosting a 1926 National Skate Day for
Alzheimer’s on January 14th at the Lanspeary Lions Ice Rink (1250 Langlois Avenue in Windsor) from 1 – 4
PM. Community members are invited to attend with their families for an afternoon of skating and hot
chocolate.
For more information, please contact the Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County at 519-974-2220
or visit Steve McNeil’s website: www.1926Skate.com.
Media are welcome to attend the event on January 20th from 2:30 PM.
Established in Windsor in 1981, the Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County is dedicated to serving
those with Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementia and their caregivers in the community.
Locally, it is
estimated that in 2023, there are 8,560 people living in Windsor & Essex County over the age of 40 with
Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Over 100 years after the discovery of these conditions, there is still
no known cause or cure. What is known is that this disease can affect anyone.
World Alzheimer’s Day is celebrated on September 21st each year.