Student superheroes, everyday heroes walk for Duchenne awareness and inclusivity

And who was the jersey representing?

“The NBA player LaMelo Ball,” Mitton replies.

Jude is a student at Lloyd George Elementary living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It’s a rare disease, and the Mitton family is dedicated in bringing awareness to the condition.

“He’s the only kiddo in Kamloops that we know of, so I think sometimes you have to be a loud voice, because you do live in isolation in that sense. You don’t have anybody around that is dealing with the same thing,” says mom Kasha Mitton, who is also the founder of the MASH Movement, a social platform and fundraising event organizing collective.

“It’s just really nice to see how many people came and did it,” Jude’s sister Kaia told CFJC. The teen doesn’t attend Lloyd George anymore, but came out for the walk with several of her friends from the secondary school up the street.

It’s the fourth year the school has held the superhero-themed event to support Jude and celebrate everyday heroes. Anik Hansen is an education assistant at Lloyd George Elementary and is one of the educators who got the inaugural walk organized.

“Another [Certified Educational Assistant] and I, we decided to create Le Jour Day Superhero, and we decided that Jude, in a sense, is a superhero, because he’s fighting every day,” says Hansen. “We all decided to support him as a school community and make our own walk.”

The walk also highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusion and serves as a precursor for a community-wide walk on Sunday (May 26) to defeat Duchenne. The walk will be held on Sunday at 5:00 p.m., starting from the outdoor basketball courts by Old Main at the Thompson Rivers University campus.

“This year, we’re bringing it up to TRU because Jude is an honorary WolfPack member so we’re bringing the community together on campus,” says Mitton.

It’s all part of a new initiative called InclusiABILITY, a series of events held to foster accessibility awareness. For the next two weeks, fitness studios around the city will host by-donation classes to raise money to buy an adaptive bike, which will help get the Kamloops Bike Riders Association’s (KBRA) kids adaptive biking program started.

There’s a packed schedule of classes (full list viewed here), wrapped up by a yoga class on June 9 at LuluLemon in Aberdeen Mall.

In addition, Iron Road Brewing, Mittz Kitchen and Twisted Steak will all be serving a specialty beer, ‘Hey Jude,’ for the cause.

“I have no words,” Mitton says the support for the series of events in the name of inclusion has been immense. “The City of Kamloops stepped up, from the business and fitness community to the restaurant community, to the TRU community — it is like a city-wide dynamic event.”

Watching a crowd of high-energy superheroes practically jogging up the street was a meaningful preview into the kind of support the Mittons hope to see during InclusiABILITY this year.

As they reached their destination on the route and prepared to head back, Jude and his friend Archer Kaluzny said the heroes walk was a success.

“I think my favourite part was definitely the music, and the big crowd. Everyone showing up and singing — it’s amazing,” says Kaluzny.

“You set a pretty heroic pace out there, were you trying to win the race?” CFJC asked Jude, after a considerable physical effort was made to keep up to the students.

“Yeah,” he smirked.

Image Credit: MASH Movement / InclusiAbility

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Student superheroes, everyday heroes walk for Duchenne awareness and inclusivity

Our Community