Blog

August 13^th, 2026

Walk-or-Wheel (WOW) Update

Dear EAFWR Community,

We are so grateful to everyone who has joined us, participated in, and supported our Walk-or-Wheel (WOW) fundraiser over the years. Since 2007, Walk-or-Wheel has brought our community together to champion inclusion, belonging, and opportunities for people with disabilities, their networks, and the wider community.

As an organization guided by our values of belonging, community, equity, and relationships, we are always learning, growing, and evolving. These values encourage us to think about how we bring people together, create meaningful experiences, and foster deeper connections within our community.

As we look to the future, we believe it is important that our events evolve alongside us. After careful consideration, we will not be hosting Walk-or-Wheel this year. Instead, we will be taking time to reflect, reimagine, and design an approach to our events and fundraising efforts that more fully reflects who we are today, where we are headed, and the impact we want to create together.

While we know this news may come as a disappointment to some of our longtime participants, sponsors, volunteers, and supporters, we invite you to join us in exploring opportunities.

As part of this process, our Community Engagement Team will be reaching out to each of these groups to hear your thoughts and perspectives, to help shape the planning and development for next year and beyond.

Behind the scenes, we will be working to build something even stronger, more effective, more meaningful, and more engaging for our community. This revitalized experience will engage and celebrate our supporters, strengthen community connections, and advance our shared vision of a community where everyone belongs.

Although we have paused this year’s event, the need within our community continues. We welcome contributions from supporters who wish to contribute this year to our community development initiatives, providing immediate support to the programs that normally rely on revenue generated through the event.

We are excited for what lies ahead and look forward to sharing more about this new chapter with you in the months to come. Thank you for your continued support, partnership, and commitment to building a more inclusive community.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me at allan.mills@eafwr.on.ca or to Lisa Stanley, our Impact & Development Specialist at lisa.stanley@eafwr.on.ca.

With appreciation,

Allan Mills
Executive Director
Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region