Nearly $24,000 Raised To Combat Kidney Disease as 475 Prince Georgians Walk for the Cause
By Robert R. Bernstein
A new tradition is born.
The inaugural Kidney Walk in Prince George’s County took place April 19 at the Mall of Prince Georges in Hyattsville as 475 people attended to contribute toward the cause. Participants were often walking together in fundraising teams centered on family members who suffer from the disease. Other groups represented local businesses and organizations.
“Your giving hearts let us live a great life,” said Quandra Lee, a two-time kidney transplant recipient at the opening ceremony of the event that raised $23,000 for the National Kidney Foundation.
One of these was a unit of 16 walkers from the American College of Cardiology based in Washington, DC. They walked under the banner “We Walk For Beth,” honoring the daughter of a co - worker who passed away from the disease in March.
The families that walked together often had very courageous and poignant stories. The Franklin family team of 12 from Hyattsville walked to support their grandmother who received a kidney from another family member who eventually passed from the disease.
“It’s not difficult to get information,” says Diana Franklin when asked if the disease may have taken back seat to other health issues that receive national attention. “You just have to reach out and get it.”
Lead sponsor for the event was the Ronald D Paul Companies, a real estate management company based in Bethesda, Maryland.
The world of sports was represented by Washington Redskin Reid Doughty, whose son Micah, was born prematurely and endured kidney failure as an infant, served as honorary chairman. Micah Doughty eventually received a transplant and is currently doing well. He indicated that while the NFL does not have an official campaign against the disease, his personal experience with it helped to “create awareness”.
The National Kidney Foundation received $23,000 dollars having been raised thus far (not including the matching donation from sponsor Ronald D Paul Companies). Additionally, two individual teams raised over $2,500 dollars.
The walk is the first of two major events in the county slated to bring attention to the ravages of an infirmity that does not often get the attention it should.
Next up is a golf tournament on May29th at that Tantallon in Fort Washington.
Kidney disease is prevalent in this area with 700,000 people having been diagnosed in the Washington, DC metro area. Of those folks having testing positive for the infirmity, 6,000 are on dialysis and 1,600 are on wait lists for transplant. In the county, there are at least 2000 patients on regular dialysis.
Photos by Michelle Anthony and Nell Elder
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