KENT, Conn.—About 60 friends, neighbors and family turned out Saturday at Kent Commons Park on Swifts Lane to walk a mile in shoes that Luke Arno would love to fill.
Instead, Arno, an avid sportsman, is confined to the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain where he continues to recover from a traumatic brain injury sustained in a motorcycle accident. The walkers were there to raise funds for his continuing care.
The July 18 event, which attracted more participants than the organizers expected, raised $3,300 to help with his medical bills.
The event was organized by nursing student Katy Branch of Norfolk, who will receive her A.S.N. degree in May 2027. She met some of Arno’s friends, Riley Mollica and Kenzie Ongley, through her fiancee in February and soon decided it was a cause she would embrace as her community service project.
She was assisted by fellow nursing students Alexandra Pascual, Sariina Maynard, Subrina Alvarez, Glorybel Soto, Jennifer Grosclaude and their instructors Dolores (Dodie) Murphy and Bree Greilis.
As might be expected with young women studying to be nurses in a summer that has served up withering temperatures, they worried about an event that would call for strenuous physical exertion. So, they settled on a one-mile walk (five laps) that circled the park on a gravel path. A $10 donation secured entry to the walkathon and raffle tickets were sold. Fifteen business provided the raffle prizes and Selectman Lynn Harrington, whose son is a close friend of Arno’s, announced the winners.
Saturday was muggy with threatening rain, but that did not deter walkers from participating in an event that included donated snacks and water, outdoor yard games and the raffle. On an educational level, displays explained traumatic brain injury.
Following the walkathon, Branch thanked everyone for participating and introduced Arno’s older half-sister, Brandi Alpizar. “The turnout is so much more than we could have thought,” Alpizar said. “It’s means a lot. It’s incredible, really. We jokingly call Luke the mayor of Kent. I wish he could see this now.”
She emotionally spoke about his current condition: “It’s been almost a year and Luke is making steady progress,” she said. “It’s slow, but he’s a fighter. He amazes me every day.”
But the road ahead for him will be long and she said, “Every bit [of money] counts to help him recover and build his future. There are no words to be able to thank Katy and her nursing classmates enough for what they have done here. We’re giving Luke a chance.”
She encouraged anyone who wants to go visit him. “He can see and he is aware,” she reported. The hospital is located at 2150 Corbin Ave, New Britain, Conn.
While Arno could not be present on Saturday, his friends captured the event on video so they can share it with him in the hospital.
“We’ve been so fortunate to have so much support from the Kent community,” Branch said. “My hope is that people will see this and learn more about brain injuries.”
Area businesses donating money or raffle prizes included: South 7 Electric, Hagley Motors, Riverstone Jewelry, D. Lorraine Aesthetics, Nutmeg Primary Care, Fife n’ Drum, 45 on Main Street Coffee & Chocolate Shop, SoDelicious Bakery and The Villager, all of Kent, as well as The Lantern in Wassaic, On the Run Coffee Shop, Lakeville, Bearingstar Insurance of Avon, Arbella Insurance, available through Nicholas/Tobin Insurance in Kent, and KZwick Photography, Sharon.