Turning 101 has not slowed life down for a Lunenburg woman-she is as active as ever.
Joy Saunders has embarked on a journey to go for 102 walks before her next birthday in October and raise money for the VON at the same time. She worked for the VON for 30 years running a foot clinic and says she has always respected the work they do in the community.
To date she has done 28 walks and has no doubt she will reach her goal long before her birthday. An astonishing $52,522 has been raised so far which will help support VON programs and services.
Saunders was born in England but ended up living all over Canada because of her father’s military postings. After marrying a Maritimer she settled in Nova Scotia, raising her family of 8 children in Cape Breton.
“I am a Maritimer now. I came to Lunenburg over 30 years ago, so I have lived here longer than I have anywhere else so I think they should accept me now,” she said with a laugh.
The idea to walk to raise money came to her while watching TV one day. She happened to catch a news cast about a British second world war veteran who had raised more than $39 million in fundraising walks for healthcare workers he did in his own garden.
“I thought well I could do that because I walk all the time. I have always loved walking, so I mapped out a route and I’ve been doing it every day. It’s .8 of a kilometre which isn’t too far but I don’t want to aim for something I might not do tomorrow,” she said.
When asked what the key was to reaching the age of 101 she said keeping active was important.
“I keep moving all the time, I don’t sit. A lot of people just sit and I’ve walked all my life, so that’s all I can say. Stay positive, be happy.”
To donate in support of the walk visit the VON website at https://www.von.ca/donate-joy.
