The annual Kidney Walk taking place in Williams Lake this Sunday is more than just a walk, says event organizer Jaime Macdonald.
“We aren’t just walking,” Macdonald says. “We are raising funds for research and awareness about the organ donor program. Some of the funds raised also help to assist people with the cost of treatment and travel for treatment.”
According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada one in 10 people will develop some form of kidney disease.
Macdonald says that some of her own family members have suffered with kidney disease including her grandmother’s sister who had to have one kidney removed when it malfunctioned to the point of life or death.
“Kidney disease doesn’t just affect older people,” Macdonald says. “It affects young people too.”
She points to two-year-old Haley Anna, the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s 2016 poster child, who is waiting for a kidney transplant.
She notes that raising awareness about kidney disease has resulted in a 23 per cent increase in kidney transplants since 2006 according to a recent study released by the foundation.
A kiosk with information about the Kidney Foundation and the organ donor program will be set up at the Williams Lake Kidney Walk taking place in Boitanio Park Sunday, Sept. 25.
Registration for the walk can be done on line or at the walk. To register for the walk go to williamslakewalk@kidney.bc.ca
Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the walk takes place between 10 and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The walk is two and a half kilometres and will involve about two loops around the park for those wishing to complete the entire walk.
She says there will also be a bouncy castle and face painting set up for the children.
As of Monday she said about 25 people had signed up and were collecting pledges for the walk but she expects many more people will simply register on the day of the walk.
Since 100 Mile House doesn’t have its own Kidney Walk, she says there will be a contingent of supporters coming from that community to participate.