Attendance was up by 45 people at the Fourth Annual Wig Walk in Lenoir, NC. Two-hundred people came out to the T.H. Broyhill Walking Park on May 9th to participate in a charity walk-a-thon and fun run presented by Members Credit Union (MCU). 100% of the funds raised will help the Wig Bank of Caldwell County provide support services to cancer patients. This year’s walk raised $7,000 and brought in more support from local businesses and organizations than last year.
“Curt Hiller, one of our customers, serves on the board of the Wig Bank and made the connection with us,” said Chris Smith, Retail Store Manager of Carolina West Wireless in Lenoir, explaining how his company became the exclusive sponsor of this year’s Wig Walk. “It’s a great event and a great cause. Where there’s people and a great cause, we want to be involved. So, it’s kind of a no-brainer for us.”
The Wig Walk also received support from Blue Ridge Electric Co., The News-Topic, Chloebugs, Anytime Fitness, Caldwell UNC Health Care, and David Whisnant & Son Grading. Special Sponsors included Sugar Peas, who provided an inflatable bounce house for the event, and Communities in Schools (CIS), who raised money and put together a walk team to honor the memory of Larry Hayes, the site director for CIS at Hudson Middle School who died from cancer in January of 2015.
Pastor Josh Dellinger and A.C. Phillips of Dry Ponds Baptist Church knew Hayes from church and came out to support the Wig Walk. They remember Hayes as someone who always gave back to the community, and participating in the Wig Walk was their way of honoring their friend.
Supporting friends and family and honoring a loved one who has passed on were some of the reasons that many people walked in this year’s event. Being a survivor was perhaps the most hopeful reason. Cindy Baker was one of the survivors participating, “I had breast cancer myself in 2013,” explained Baker. “I’m a one-year survivor as of August 21st of last year. I wanted to do something for the community because the Wig Bank gave me a wig, and I really appreciated that.”
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