Southland residents and businesses are gearing up to support the annual Walk for Kids event that will take place at four locations simultaneously on Sunday, April 12, 2015. The non-competitive 5k pledge event raises awareness and funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California® (RMHCSC), which provides comfort, care and support to families with critically-ill children. Individuals and groups, including businesses, community organizations and churches, are encouraged to sign-up to raise funds and participate at www.walkforkids.org.
As the charity’s biggest fundraising event of the year, the walk will spotlight the invaluable services provided by the Houses, Family Rooms and Camp with the help of families who have been touched by the programs. Residents, community leaders, businesses and more will lace up for one of the four walks taking place at: Exposition Park in Los Angeles, Honda Center in Orange County, Shoreline Park in Long Beach and Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. A fifth Walk for Kids event will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at California Living Museum in Bakersfield.
“Over the years we’ve seen Walk for Kids evolve into a powerful, community-driven effort that has helped raise millions of dollars to fund our programs,” said Vince Bryson, Chief Executive Officer, RMHCSC. “We wouldn’t be able to provide the support families need during difficult times without the help of our corporate and individual supporters.”
Last year, nearly 23,000 participants representing more than 1,000 spirited teams stepped up to help raise more than $2.2 million for RMHCSC programs. Ronald McDonald Houses, located in Los Angeles, Orange, Long Beach, Loma Linda, Pasadena and Bakersfield, offer low cost, and often free, temporary housing for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals and medical centers. Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times provides children with cancer an opportunity to process their diagnosis and restore their self-esteem in the therapeutic environment of the great outdoors at no cost. Ronald McDonald Family Rooms serve as an oasis inside the hospital for parents with children in the pediatric intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit.
For more information, visit www.walkforkids.org
