Walking for a cause at Jones Beach

Although the summer is coming to a close, Jones Beach will continue to draw crowds. As families gather at Field 5 in the dim hours of the morning, there will be only one thing on everyone’s mind: finding a cure for a dreaded disease.

For the next two months, Jones Beach State Park, in Wantagh, will host walks nearly every weekend in support of research for a variety of foundations. The National Brain Tumor Society will be first with its walk on Sept. 19, followed by the American Heart Association's Walk the following day.

Whether it is autism, blindness, breast cancer, brain aneurysms or pancreatic cancer, there will be one common goal for participants seeking to raise money and awareness of these health crises. To put it simply, they walk on.

A vision for the future

Karen Montagnese, 58, is one of the participants spearheading the support for the Vision Walk on Oct. 3, whose proceeds will battle age-related macular degeneration. Unlike aggressive cancers, this disorder progresses more slowly, but it remains the most common cause of vision loss in people over 55.

Montagnese, a resident of Sea Cliff and a co-president of the Long Island Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, says she is passionate about the cause, and helps to prepare her team and family members for the 5-kilometer walk.

“Thirty-three years ago, I was diagnosed with [retinitis pigmentosa],” she said. “I first realized something was wrong when I couldn’t trick-or-treat with my friends as a kid. I felt out of place, and couldn’t see anything at night.” As her RP slowly worsened, night blindness became the least of her worries. By the time she reached college, Montagnese was bumping into things and losing her peripheral vision.

“The main reason we walk is to raise money for research on blindness,” she said. “It’s a time when the visually impaired on Long Island can come together and feel the love on all levels.”

Montagnese, her husband, Nick, and her team of 25, Karen’s Friends, raised closed to $15,000 last year for the cause, with the Foundation raising another $75,000. Team members hope to fuel more donations this year, and attract more participants.