2011 Steps That Count

The 2011 American Kidney Fund Steps that Count Walk was held at National's Stadium. It was an amazing venue for the walk and everything I heard from staff, the National's organization was wonderful to work with. For someone who remembers Griffith Stadium and RFK, this is a stadium worthy of the Nation's Capital.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton came by to speak and to present to AKF her insertion into the Congressional Record; and the Mayor declared June 11, 2011 Kidney Awareness Day. The Congresswoman presented some alarming facts. The three zip codes in the US with the highest percentage of people with kidney disease are in Washington DC. In the 61.4 square land miles of the Nation's Capital there are 6K+ kidney patients in a population of 601,657. That's almost 1% of the population.

I started volunteering with AKF after my mother's death from end-stage kidney disease. AKF gives 97 cents of every dollar raised to kidney patients and their families. The walk featured health screenings, exercise demonstrations, healthy cooking demonstrations and healthy menu
options as well as excercise routines, face painting and chair massage.

If you have any of the risk factors listed in the photo below, get tested; even if you don't get tested.