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by Melanie Jongsma, Director of Communications
When you hear the word “walkers” at Saratoga Grove, the Providence retirement community in Downers Grove, Illinois, it likely refers to members of the Walking Club, 16 residents who have together logged 2,706,787 steps or 505 miles in a year. “That’s like walking from Downers Grove to Charleston, WV,” says Francine Myers, our Community Relations Director there.
Walker Joan Vanderkamp poses by the whiteboard where members of the Walking Club log their steps.
The club organized last July and began tracking their steps, which they register on a public whiteboard. By the end of June 2010, Jim Ulrich (age 85) had walked the farthest — 75 miles. Clara Zuidema (age 93) was right behind him with 69 miles, and Shirley Vroom (84) and Joan Vanderkamp (88) had each logged 50 miles.
The club doesn’t know if they will be able to maintain that pace throughout their second year, but they plan to try. “That’s one benefit of being in a club or in a community,” says Fran. “The members motivate each other and encourage each other. Maybe, for example, Jim will walk only 70 miles this year, and maybe Clara will match that. Maybe Shirley and Joan will each improve their contribution by just 5 miles. If that happens, and everyone else at least maintains, that’s all it would take for the club to beat their record.”
Having worked among these residents for a few years, Fran is confident in their ability to exceed expectations. “I know they can do it,” she says, “and I think they will!”
She’s also impressed with the example they set for others: “They really are putting some of us to shame — they are twice as active at twice our age!”
Update: View the article — with photos of Clara and Jim — published in the August 24, 2010, Downers Grove Reporter!
Glimpses of Providence 