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Community Corner

Youth Connection: The Walk for Aidan

A follow-up to the Walk for Aidan event to raise money for finding a cure for DMD.

On Saturday, May 22, 2011, I had the chance to attend the Walk For Aidan at Sammamish High School. Over 100 students volunteer to run this event, which draws over 600 community members every year.

Aidan’s story is what inspires and brings the whole community together every year to make a difference. At the age of seven, Aidan was diagnosed with DMD, the most fatal form of muscular dystrophy. DMD attacks all skeletal muscles in the body, eventually affecting the heart and respiratory muscles, and ultimately causing death.

Since 2007, the volunteers and sponsors for the Walk For Aidan have successfully created a high-energy event with non-stop activities and fun. Participants could get free henna, meet Seahawks and Sounder players, run around the track for prizes, listen to live music, and much more. In addition, proceeds from sales of fresh Barbecue, Chipotle, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, Bubble tea, and others went toward the Charley’s Fund, the only 501(c)3 organization exclusively devoted to finding a cure for DMD.

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I would recommend this event for anyone in the coming years. The walk for Aidan is a great opportunity to have a lot of fun and make a difference. It warms my heart to see how many people come out every year to support such an amazing cause. I hope that more people will continue to attend the Walk for Aidan - I know I will.

Gigi Udomchat writes for Youth Connection, a publication of Youth Link.

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