Photo courtesy of Donate Life Alabama.
Runners and walkers take part in the 2022 Donor Dash for Life 5K at Veterans Park in May 2022.
Several walks and runs are planned in and around Hoover in May to raise money for various nonprofits. Here are some details on a few of them:
DONOR DASH FOR LIFE 5K
The Donate Life Alabama nonprofit, which educates people about organ, eye and tissue donation and encourages people to register to donate, is having its fourth annual Donor Dash for Life 5K at Veterans Park in Hoover on Saturday, May 6.
On-site registration is at 8 a.m., and the 3.1-mile race is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The cost is $30, plus a $3.95 signup fee, but organizers also encourage people to form teams to raise money to support the cause, said Ann Rayburn, secretary for the nonprofit’s board of directors.
As participants run the course, organ recipients, organ donors and their families will cheer on the runners, Rayburn said.
The first year’s race was held virtually in 2020, and the in-person race has grown from 90 people in 2021 to 136 last year, Rayburn said. Last year’s race raised about $4,000, and this year organizers hope to attract at least 150 people and raise at least $5,000, she said.
Prizes will be given to the team that raises the most money and the team that demonstrates the best spirit, Rayburn said.
For more information or to register, go to runsignup.com/Race/Events/AL/Hoover/DonorDash4Life5K.
WALK TO CURE ARTHRITIS
The Arthritis Foundation has scheduled its 2023 Alabama Walk to Cure Arthritis for Sunday, May 7, at Veterans Park in Hoover.
This year, the walk is being held on a Sunday afternoon rather than a Saturday morning, and is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
The aim is to honor the 59 million people in the United States who battle arthritis and raise money to find better treatments and a cure for the disease, which causes pain in people’s joints and can reduce mobility.
The Walk to Cure Arthritis is the flagship fundraising event for the Arthritis Foundation. People are encouraged to form teams to both raise money and participate in the event.
The goal this year is to raise $50,000. As of April 5, 39 people on 10 teams had signed up for the Alabama walk at Veterans Park and had raised more than $3,100, according to the Arthritis Foundation website.
For more information or to register to walk or raise money, go to events.arthritis.org.
STEPS AGAINST MELANOMA WALK
The AIM at Melanoma Foundation, a global organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for melanoma and ultimately a cure, is having its second annual Steps Against Melanoma Walk for the Birmingham area at Veterans Park in Hoover on Saturday, May 20.
On-site registration and check-in for the run/walk 5K will begin at 8 a.m. An opening ceremony is planned for 8:45 a.m., and the run/walk should begin at 9 a.m.
Registration is free, but participants are encouraged to raise money for the foundation, and any participant who raises at least $50 will get a T-shirt. Money collected will go toward research initiatives such as the International Melanoma Tissue Bank Consortium.
People who come will have a chance to hear inspiring stories from melanoma survivors and walk with other people decked out in black.
The goal for the Birmingham area walk is $10,000, and as of May 2, $2,100 had been committed, according to the AIM for Melanoma Foundation website.
National sponsors include Iovance Biotherapeutics, Novartis, Pfizer Oncology, Coolibar and UVShinz. A local sponsor is the Puttin’on the Ritz DJ Service.
To register online for the event, go to aimatmelanoma.org. For more information, contact Melissa Marty at mlmarty13@gmail.com
BIRMINGHAM GREAT STRIDES WALK
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Birmingham-area Great Strides Walk is moving from Hoover’s Veterans Park to Wald Park in Vestavia Hills this year.
The foundation decided to move the walk after many years at Veterans Park because it could no longer reserve space in the park pavilion, said Jennifer Holley, the development director for the foundation’s Alabama chapter.
Plus, Wald Park is more centrally located for the Birmingham area, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation this past year developed a strong partnership with the Student Government Association at Vestavia Hills High School, which raised $64,000 this past fall for the foundation, Holley said.
This year’s Birmingham Great Strides Walk is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, with check-in at 9 a.m. and the walk beginning at 10 a.m.
About 225 people participated in last year’s walk and raised at least $115,000, surpassing last year’s goal of $98,500, Holley said. The goal this year is $125,000. As of April 5, about $13,000 already had been raised or pledged, according to the foundation’s website.
The Birmingham walk is one of seven Great Strides Walks held throughout the state. The first is April 15 in Montgomery, and others are April 22 in Tuscaloosa and Dothan, April 29 in Mobile and May 13 in Huntsville and Auburn. Last year, the foundation raised about $450,000 statewide, and this year’s statewide goal is $480,000, Holley said.
People are encouraged to create fundraising teams, getting people to sponsor them in the walk, either individually or as a group, but that’s not a requirement for participation, she said.
To register for the Birmingham Great Strides Walk, go to cff.org/alabama and click on Events to find the Birmingham walk.
