More than 1,200 walk to support LivingWell in Geneva

Two years ago, Mary Bulkley had to be pushed in a wheelchair as she took part in her first walk to benefit LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva.

On Saturday morning, Bulkley, 65, of Batavia, a breast cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy, was full of energy while getting ready to walk for the second year in a row.

“I’m raring to go,” Bulkley said smiling widely, as more than 1,200 walkers set off under cloudy skies and unseasonably cold temperatures at Fabyan Forest Preserve along Route 31 in Geneva.

Participants of the 6th Annual Bridge Walk walked 3.2 miles, first heading south toward Batavia, then crossing over the Fox River to head back north and loop around.

“It’s a beautiful walk along the river,” said Linda Hayford, of Hoffman Estates, Bulkley’s friend of more than 35 years.

Normally children and grandchildren walk with them, but this year everyone was sick, Hayford added.

Altogether, the event raised nearly $216,000, topping last year’s “day of” proceeds by nearly $25,000, said Susan Mielke, the center’s development director and one of its founding members.

“We’ll probably get a lot more in time, before we close the donation period for this event,” Mielke said.

The day started with an opening ceremony that included the Geneva Fire Department’s color guard, and a celebration walk by cancer survivors as local vocalist Mary Hunt sang “We Are the Champions.”

Students from the St. Charles North and St. Charles East high school drill teams, the St. Charles East color guard and Geneva High School cheerleaders flanked two sides of the walk’s starting corridor, and loudly cheered as patients, survivors and their families set off on their walk.

Many walked to remember loved ones who lost the battle against cancer.

Team “P.S. We Love You” included nearly 25 children and adults who walked in honor of Penny Bringle and Sue Schultze, who died in 2008 and 2009 respectively, said Michelle Kovacs, of Aurora, Bringle’s daughter and Schultze’s stepdaughter.

Kovacs said her mother and aunt participated in LivingWell support groups, and her mother also took art and cooking classes at the center while undergoing chemotherapy. Later, Kovacs and her father really benefited from the center’s grief support group, she said.

“Walking makes us very proud to be able to help LivingWell, to give back for all the ways in which they helped us,” Kovacs said.