WINONA LAKE – One of the symptoms of Juvenile Myositis is that a child can’t go out into the sun because it will give them hives or rashes. Using the parasol as a representation of that symptom, Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy cadets Katie Yocum and Abigail Smith have organized the Parasol Parade for Cure JM this month. “Parasol Parade is a walk in Winona Lake to help raise awareness for Juvenile Myositis, which is an autoimmune disorder in children. We are doing this event to help raise awareness and to give funds to the official non-profit, which is Cure JM,” said Smith, a Warsaw Community High School junior. The event is April 30, rain or shine. Registration starts at 2:30 p.m. for people who haven’t already registered online at parasolparadeforCJM.com The event starts at 3:30 p.m. A single person is $15 and a family of four or more is $50, which includes four umbrellas. Everyone who registers will get an umbrella while supplies last. The umbrellas say “Parasol Parade for Cure JM” on them. Donations also will be accepted, and balloons will be sold for $1. There will be a balloon release during the event. The walk will go along Canal Street, take a left along the island and then back by the last bridge. It should last about a half hour. Co-organizer Katie Yocum, also a WCHS junior, said, “We did this project because we’re part of KYLA ... and so every month we go to a leadership seminar where we learn different skills, and we hear from different leaders and businesses and they teach us different things. At the end of the year, we have to use the knowledge we gained from these different meetings to create a Project Proud.” Most of the cadets pick a topic they are passionate about and create an interesting project to go along with that, Yocum said. The projects are then presented to the cadets’ peers and KYLA leaders. Katherine Alderfer, daughter of Alan and Kristine Alderfer, has been battling Juvenile Dermatomyositis since she was 4 years old. Smith said she’s known Katherine and her sister, Caroline, since they were 3; lives in the same neighborhood as them; goes to the same church as them; and babysat them for a long time. “So I knew them before Katherine was diagnosed,” Smith said. “Afterward, it hit home with me. It was pretty devastating to hear about it, even when I was so young. I wanted to do something about it. When we got inducted into KYLA, that’s the first thing that popped into my mind because it was an outlet for us to really help Katherine and to do something about her disease.” Katherine and Caroline have decorated two umbrellas to be raffled off at the April 30 event. Everyone who registers for the Parasol Parade also will get a raffle ticket for the drawing. Volunteers for the event are needed. Go to the website at parasolparadeforCJM.com to find the contact information. Yocum said it’s not strenuous work, and volunteers should wear red. Along with the website, Smith said the event also has an Instagram and a Facebook account under ParasolPardeforCJM. Whether the event becomes annual will depend on how successful it is this year. Smith said they’ve been corresponding with the people at Cure JM, who showed interest in using the Parasol Parade idea if it’s successful. “I’d like to continue it,” she said. Cure JM’s website is at curejm.org
