Want to help someone? Take a walk.
On Sept. 25 at Coquitlam's Town Centre Park, make it a stroll - Myeloma Vancouver's first Stroll for a Cure.
The family-friendly event involves a 5 km (or shorter or longer) walk around Lafarge Lake aimed at raising funds for a cash-strapped research unit.
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer most people have never heard of until they are diagnosed with it. In 2009, 2,200 people were newly diagnosed with myeloma; about 1,400 deaths from the disease are reported annually.
While there is no cure, treatment research has entered a revolutionary and exciting phase, transforming myeloma into a treatable disease. Even better for local patients, the Vancouver General Hospital's Haematology Research and Clinical Trials Unit (HRCTU) has the potential to take more of a leading role in exploring these emerging new therapies.
All proceeds from Stroll for a Cure will benefit the clinical trials unit at VGH.
Registration for the event starts at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 25, with the stroll underway at 10 a.m. Participants are invited to bring their families and spend a day relaxing in the park.
To donate or learn more about Stroll for a Cure, visit www.myelomavancouver.ca.
WALKIES SUNDAY
Animal lovers in the Tri-Cities are urged to get moving this Sunday to help a furry friend.
Registration is open for the annual Scotiabank and BC SPCA Paws for a Cause walk, held each fall to raise funds for homeless and abused animals in B.C. Each year, participants in 37 communities around the province walk with colleagues, friends, family and with their dogs to raise $1 million to help animals in need.
Locally, Paws for a Cause will be held at Lafarge Lake on Sunday, Sept. 11. Registration begins at 10 a.m., with the walk starting at 11:30 a.m. Activities will include: dog agility demonstration, fashion show, vendor booths and doggy games. For more information visit spca.bc.ca/branches/poco-centre/.
"This is the largest single event supporting animals in B.C.," Denise Meade, the BC SPCA's director of development, said in a press release. "Participants are already signing up and will be fundraising in their own communities all summer long."
To register and for more information visit www.spca.bc.ca/walk.
