Mark Linder Walk for the Mind - Support Brain Tumor Awareness and Research
Save The Date!
The 15th Annual Mark Linder Walk for the Mind will be Saturday, September 30, 2017 at the Peoria RiverPlex along the riverfront.
Mark Linder was only in his twenties when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A Peoria native, he graduated from Richwood High School. He then attended and graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1997. He completed his studies for a Masters degree in Industrial Occupational Psychology in 1997 from Western Kentucky University.
Mark’s goal was to create a place where brain tumor survivors and those still fighting the battle can come and support each other in this battle. In an effort to reach out to other brain tumor survivors and to help raise funds for Brain Tumor research, Mark founded the Mark Linder Walk for the Mind in 2003. The Walk is a way to unite those individuals and their families and to raise funds to support brain tumor research in hopes to find a cure.
That first walk, whom the honorary chairman was Congressman Ray LaHood, attracted over 150 walkers on the Peoria Riverfront and raised over $12,000 for the ABTA (American Brain Tumor Association). Mark died, aged 31, in 2005. Also, in 2005, Mark was honored by having an academic fellowship named in his honor.
From 150 participants in 2003, to over 750 people in 2016, the Walk continues to grow. Mark Linder Walk for the Mind has now raised more than $520,000. All net proceeds from the Walk are donated to the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Furthermore, we are beginning to see results from their brain tumor research program.
Mark Linder Walk for the Mind is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.