More than 30 million Americans have diabetes. That’s almost a tenth of the total population in the United States, which means there’s a good chance you know more than a few people who live with the disease.
You may feel like you can’t do anything to help people living with diabetes, but that’s not true. All you have to do? Step Out.
Cincinnati’s 2016 Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association’s signature fundraising walk, will take place Saturday, Nov. 5, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Summit Park in Blue Ash. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is a major sponsor for the event.
“The day of the event is a party to celebrate the fundraising accomplishments of our teams and individual participants as well as an opportunity to promote awareness about diabetes and the American Diabetes Association,” according to the event website.
To participate, just visit stepout.diabetes.org. Registrants will receive their own fundraising page that they can share with their friends and family. Personal fundraising pages include a variety of fundraising tools and can be customized in a variety of ways, including layout, photos and video, and the style and color of the site.
When you Step Out, there’s no need to go it alone. In addition to individuals, fundraising pages can be set up for teams of families, friends, clubs, and corporations. St. Elizabeth’s team is working toward a fundraising goal of $5,000. To learn more about St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s effort to support the American Diabetes Association, visit their team page here.
“We walk in Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes ® because today diabetes will claim 200 lives,” according to the St. Elizabeth team website. “We walk because every 23 seconds someone new is diagnosed with this serious chronic health condition. We walk because our family and friends are among the nearly 30 million adults and children in the United States who have diabetes.”
Although there is no minimum fundraising requirement, participants are encouraged to raise money to help support the American Diabetes Association and its mission.
This year’s fundraising goal is $140,000. The American Diabetes Association devotes 73 percent of its total annual spending toward research, information, advocacy and public awareness campaigns.
