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One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the Breast Cancer 5K CARE Walks go directly to the underserved and uninsured right here in the Miami Valley. We are completely volunteer-driven to get the most out of the money we collect.
contact us
CARE Walk, Inc.
219 Orchard Drive
Dayton, OH 45419-1722
Phone: (937) 294-3816
CARE Walk in the news
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
Fund-raising CARE Walk raises consciousness, too, in local community
By CAROLE A. JUDGE
Walk a mile in her shoes. That's exactly what Leigh Ann Fulford offered to do shortly after meeting a new face, Gina Lofquist, at a PTO meeting. Actually, she offered to walk 60 miles and joined her in the Avon's three-day walk for breast cancer.
Three years -- and many pairs of worn-out shoes -- later, these friends have formed their own charity, mobilized an entire community, and have generated more than $26,000 in funds for cancer causes.
CARE Walk, a 5K walk through Oakwood benefiting breast cancer research, is the brainchild of Fulford and Lofquist, who found tremendous support as they prepared for the Avon walk. During that time, the Oakwood City Schools, where their children attend, invited these goal-oriented moms to explain their training experiences to students. This presented them with the opportunity to simultaneously share with young people the importance of physical fitness and the value of community service.
Nancy Chifala, another Oakwood resident and a graphic designer, came on board to design the CARE Walk Logo, and Mary Linzmeier, a first-grade teacher at E.D. Smith Elementary School, configured the course, worked with local police and sought donations. High school service organizations helped with registration, and several area businesses, including Whispers Lingerie, a specialty shop in Oakwood, became charter sponsors.
But what has impressed Fulford and Lofquist most is the positive response from the children in their own neighborhood, all who have somehow been touched by this terrible disease.
"This gave them a voice, which they needed," said Fulford, who shrugs off pessimists who think finding a cure for breast cancer is a dream. "People thought that powered flight was impossible, too."
CARE Walk, which has grown to hundreds of participants, has touched the lives of several people in the Oakwood community, from the wrestling team who walked together because one of "their moms" was at home fighting breast cancer, to Mayor Judy Cook, herself a survivor, to Mary Tellers, an eighth grader who asked friends to join her in this event as a birthday present instead of gifts.
Along this year's route waited a woman, too weak to participate following recent treatments for her battle with breast cancer. From her front yard she greeted and supported walkers passing by, some stopping to give her hugs of encouragement.
One such embrace came from fellow Oakwood resident Carolyn Reveal who promised, "Next year we will walk together." It was a knowing exchange. Reveal understood. She too is a survivor.
For more information about CARE Walk 2004, scheduled for Saturday, May 8, e-mail carewalkoakwood@aol.com. The event is open to walkers of all ages.
CARE Walk team members are also available to all area schools to speak about their physical finess training and fund-raising experiences. Call Leigh Ann Fulford at (937) 294-3816.