National Kidney Foundation of Arizona anticipates more than 1,000 walkers and community supporters will participate in the upcoming third annual Charity 5K Walk on April 7 at Chase Field Ballpark. Last year’s 1,000 walkers was well up from 600 its first year — “far surpassing expected attendance,” says CEO Jeffrey Neff.
“The Walks are extremely important to our Arizona kidney community and our foundation as well, because they offer an opportunity for the people we serve to get together with others who share their story,” says Neff. “The Walk gives kidney patients, donors, recipients, family members and friends a unique venue in which to meet others with similar experiences, expanding a valuable network of support and camaraderie for hundreds of Arizonans.”
The $100,000 that the Kidney Foundation hopes to raise will support patient aid programs as well as public awareness campaigns. Among them is the Kidney Early Evaluation Program, a free health screening program targeting those at risk of developing chronic kidney disease. “An estimated one in nine Arizonans, or over 620,000 residents, are currently suffering from some stage of kidney disease — and only 10 percent know it,” Neff says.
Snapshot
- The National Kidney Foundation of Arizona was founded in 1963 to help Arizona dialysis patients pay for their treatments.
- Patient aid programs provide assistance to lighten the financial burden for those already suffering with kidney disease.
- Twenty-six million American adults are estimated to be living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). This is one out of every nine people in the population. In Arizona, more than 600,000 people have some stage of CKD.
- Ninety percent of people with CKD are not aware they have the disease, as early stage kidney disease is typically without symptoms.
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