Hope Walk to benefit Huntington’s Disease Society Oct. 16
The Northeast Region of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America will host the Delaware Team Hope Walk at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 16, at Cape Henlopen State Park, starting from the main beach pavilion.
All proceeds support the society’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by Huntington’s disease and their families.
“What I love best about the Team Hope Walks is to see the HD community come together,” said Virginia Goolkasian, HDSA’s Northeast Region development officer. “At the beginning and end of the walk when participants gather, it has the feel of a family reunion complete with hugs and smiles among teams who walk each year, and it is a warm welcome to newcomers who no longer feel alone in the fight against HD. For everyone, it is a feeling of empowerment as they see an army of people coming together to make a difference.”
Team Hope is HDSA’s largest national grassroots fundraising event. It takes place in over 100 cities across the U.S. and has raised more than $20 million for HD since its inception in 2007. Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and communities walk together each year to support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families.
For more information, contact Virginia Goolkasian at vgoolkasian@hdsa.org. To register or donate, go to hdsa.org/thwdelaware.
Huntington’s disease s a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person’s physical and mental abilities during their prime working years and has no cure. Every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at risk of inheriting the disease. The symptoms of HD are described as having ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s – simultaneously.
The Huntington’s Disease Society of America is dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by HD by providing community services, education, advocacy and research. The society was founded in 1967 by Marjorie Guthrie, the wife of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, who died from HD complications when he was only 55 years old. The Guthrie family legacy lives on at HDSA to this day.
