The Mutha of Walk Weekends
11 May
Mother’s Day was this past weekend and it is a traditional time for me to escape my mommy duties for a day, and also for many fundraising events to happen.
One of the larger national events that occurred last weekend is the the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Washington DC. This year, they had 15K participants and their top fundraiser raised over $31K!! Whoa!!! Years ago, this 5K walk/run event had 40,000 participants and was the largest in the nation for Komen. I was surprised to see that Hulk Hogan made an appearance as the Grand Marshall. I thought it was a random choice for a Grand Marshall, but apparently Komen has a partnership with the WWE that has helped them raise over $1.5M!! I wonder if any events have a partnership with the MMA. Can you imagine seeing a promotional charity banner hanging in the Octagon while the fighters kick each others teeth out?
I found that Washington DC has a walkathon just about every weekend, and came upon a fantastic and comprehensive listing of all the events for the area. SO many walks for so many great causes. Holy Walkathon Hotbed! Is your cause or issue having a walk in the DC area? Here are the links:
Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation
MS Walk – National MS Society, National Capital Chapter:
Breath Deep 5K Walk for LUNGevity
National Kidney Foundation Kidney Walk
Ronald McDonald House Charities® Red Shoe 5K Run & Walk
Great Strides for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
We’ve Got Your Back 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk
Psoriasis Network Walk to Cure
Stomp Out Sickle Cell Walk
Out of the Darkness Community Walk
Prevent Cancer Foundation 5k Walk/Run
Huntington’s Disease Society of America Hope Walk & 5K Run
FARE Walk for Food Allergy in Northern Virginia
Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Cornerstones Help the Homeless Walk
Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk
Making Strides of Washington, DC 5K Walk
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk
American Diabetes Association’s Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes
Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation 5K Walk
CureSearch Walk for Children’s Cancer
You could say that the DC area is the Muthaship of all Walkathons! I may need to create a WalkathonMaven satellite office in the Nation’s Capital!
Walkers at the POTS event
Not every walkathon has to be huge to bring awareness to an issue. Yesterday, I read a story in the Boston Globe about a small walkathon for a disease I have never heard of. POTS. About 400 people showed up for the walk in the Boston area to raise money and awareness for an organization called Dysautonomia International, that raises money for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
What is POTS? The article says that POTS is A malfunction of the autonomic nervous system that can leave sufferers unable to function, POTS is estimated to affect between 1 million and 3 million Americans, most of them young women. Who knew? Dysautonomia International is a new (2102) organization and is currently unrated with Charity Navigator. On GuideStar, I found that they have an annual budget of $100,000. All of the big walks started small like this, and I wish them the best as they grow to be a more visible event that provides a place for other caregivers/affected persons to gather.
Why do you walk?
For the t-shirt?
For the cause?
To be part of a community of people that would like to bring awareness and raise money for a cause that affects them?
Big or small, a walkathon is a great way to be with other like-minded individuals who share the same interest in making things better.
Here is a walk coming up next weekend that raises money for homeless kids so that they can have a birthday party. Everyone loves a Cake Walk!
