On Sunday April 9th, 3500 people flooded the Honda Center for the 2017 Walk for Kids. With $291,000 raised so far, we are confident of reaching our $295,000 goal in the coming weeks!
The Honda Center was abuzz with activity and the balloons and music, led you from the parking lot to the heart of the Honda Center where the Walk takes place. Starting as early as 6:45 a.m. participants enjoyed the Kids Zone, Walker Village, and Team photo areas. Kids zone was filled with two Euro Bungees, a rock wall, face painting, balloon twisting, a prehistoric pets exhibit, Floyd’s Barberbus, cotton candy, Outshine fruit bars, funnel cake and more! And at Walker village, you could fill yourself up with Wholly Guacamole, Nothing Bundt Cakes, get your picture taken with the Coca-Cola bear, Snoopy & Charlie Brown, Wiley the Wolf and spin the wheel with Dave and Busters and Jiffy lube for prizes! We also had West Coast University present for free health screenings and of course, McCafe and Gavina sponsored smoothies and coffee respectively. This year, our VIP tent was sponsored by Lions District L4L, the smell of pancakes and sausages wafted through the air.
We began promptly at 7:45 a.m. with an animated warm up by Tyler of Stark Nation followed by the national anthem by Eileen of Beating Hearts Foundation. We were so honored to also have Mike Scioscia, manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, address the crowd and hand out prizes for the top fundraiser and the Contreras Family shared their story and how the House has impacted them. Emotions were high, yet joyful as teams and individuals ran to support their friends and family who were positively affected by our house. Along the trail cheerleaders and spectators encouraged our walkers and holding signs revealing fun facts about our House. As participants inched closer to the end of the 5K, cheerleaders from Villa Park High School, volunteers, staff and our Executive Director Noel enthusiastically waited at the finish line, encouraging participants to finish strong. The feeling of accomplishment and togetherness was intensified, as individuals and teams, complete strangers to one another, embraced each other upon crossing the finish line.
We are pleased to report that we are currently at 98% of our goal and are confident that in the next few weeks will reach our goal of $295,000!
We would like to thank you, Sponsors, vendors and especially our Walkers for making this Walk For Kids especially memorable.
For a detailed list of sponsors please visit www.walkforkids.org/orangecounty.
To have your business or organization to be part of next year’s celebration, please contact Ruth Wu at [email protected].
For event pictures, please check our Facebook page!
