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Reservoir To Host First Ever Charity Walk-A-Thon
By Catherine Snipe
With only about a year of operation under its belt, the Brick Reservoir is experiencing many firsts. Soon it will experience another.
This weekend, the reservoir will host its first-ever charity walkathon on its property. on Saturday, September 16, walkers will circle the reservoir to show their support and aid for people with autoimmune diseases.
The event is sponsored by Autoimmune Information Network, a nonprofit organization founded in Brick township.
There are 149 known autoimmune diseases, according to Barbara A. Yodice, founder of the network. AIN's list of documented diseases is about 60 more autoimmune diseases than some journals have.
And more keep being recognized each year, according to AIN. The group helps to provide public awareness, support and education, and assists people who suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases. The group has helped people around the world, 29 countries total, including ones from Trinidad and Sweden. AIN states on its website that there are approximately 50 million people with autoimmune disease, and 75 percent of them are women.
The event was granted approval in the early summer. It's the first walkathon held at the reservoir, but it's also the first ever walkathon fundraiser for AIN.
Yodice, a Brick resident, is among those with multiple autoimmune diseases. She said she went through years of misdiagnosis before learning she had Myasthenia Gravis. MG, a disorder that results in fatigable muscle weakness, did not have a local support group, so Yodice founded one. She noticed that many others had more than one autoimmune disease and had unique struggles.
Out of this struggle for support AIN was born.
AIN's mission is to offer support to those with autoimmune diseases. Its money does not fund research, but helps direct patients and families to medication assistance programs, support groups, help with paperwork and applications. AIN offers these services free of charge. Several resources are made possible by donation of services, which AIN values at an accumulated $1.3 million.
The walkathon will twice circle the 1.6
mile reservoir, for a total 3.2-mile walk - two laps around the reservoir. This allows for participants to walk one lap, should that be more comfortable.
Parking and registration will be at Trinity Bible Church, 3801 LakewoodAllenwood Road, at the end of Sally Ike Road off of Herbertsville Road. Participants must register before the walk begins, between 9 and 10 a.m. The walk will commence at 10 a.m. and is expected to last through noon. The first 200 participants will also receive an AIN tee-shirt.
For more information, call 1-877-AIN4900 or visit aininc.org.
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