Mary McHale, president of the Meyer Foundation, wants to be perfectly clear as she prepares for this year’s Walk & Roll for Disabilities.
Yes, it is an important fundraiser. The Meyer Foundation for Disabilities supports recreational therapy programs at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for adults with disabilities. These programs, she said, are especially important given the stark drop-off in services and activities available once an adult with a disability turns 21.
“It’s like falling off a cliff,” McHale said. “That’s why the Munroe-Meyer Institute’s rec therapy programs are so important – at MMI, they meet our kids and adult family members where they are.”
Proceeds from the March 5 event will fund MMI’s Thursday night adult activity program, yoga club and cooking club. McHale said the foundation is proud to have been able to increase programming and provide more recreational opportunities for adults with disabilities.
And yes, it’s a big social event for the disability community.
“Many families of an adult with a disability look forward to the annual Walk & Roll as a chance to get together with friends and other families in the disability community,” said McHale, whose son, Daniel, has Down syndrome. People catch up at the event and maybe go out to eat afterward, she said.
But the event also provides an opportunity for education to the community at large – a chance for the disability community to be seen, a chance to communicate with supporters or even other mallgoers during a colorful and exciting event.
New attendees may learn more about services and supports available, at MMI and in the community at large, through the MMI staff and community partners that attend the event. Casual attendees or mallgoers who stop to take in the sights – the popular Star Wars 501st Garrison will return to Walk & Roll again this year, along with clowns and face painters – may find a chance to learn more about the disability community, as well.
“They see that this person with a disability, really, they’re no different than anyone else,” McHale said. “We are all more alike than we are different, whether we have a disability or not.”
Walk & Roll also gives families a chance to interact with MMI’s rec therapy staff more socially, which McHale said is always fun.
The Meyer Foundation Walk & Roll for Disabilities will be held March 5, starting at 10:30 a.m. The in-person event will be at Oak View Mall, located at 3001 S. 144th St. in Omaha. Registration still is open for the 19th Walk & Roll event. The 2022 event – which represented a return from Walk & Roll’s one year on Zoom – drew 325 participants on 21 teams.
See details about the event and register at this link.