My First 3k Charity Walk

On Saturday October 18, 2014, the Santa Barbara community joined together at Chase Palm park  for one very special cause, The Cure Search Walk for Children’s Cancer. The goal was to raise $40,000 that would go towards advancement  in cancer research for children. To date the Santa Barbara Community has raised $71,000, and are still expecting more donations until the end of the year.                  

Children with cancer participating in the Cure Search Walk

This was the first time I participated in a fundraiser. I had always wanted to participate in a walk or run for an amazing and inspiring cause. When I heard about The Cure Search Walk, I immediately knew I wanted to join in and I brought my husband along with me too. Unfortunately, I was not able to register online, so we register as individual walkers. However there was the opportunity to create your own team, with as many members as you could get to join. I found out about the walk that same week or else I would have formed a team and motivate more people to join. I had such a great time, and felt like I could make a difference for once. Just by raising awareness and letting the people driving or walking by know about the great cause, we made a difference.

Local cheerleaders gathering at the finish line.

There were a total of about 250 people who participated in the walk and 13 teams. The Cottage Kids Crusaders took the lead, having a goal of raising $5,000 and surpassing their goal by $4,900. The Cottage Kids Crusaders was a team made up of mostly nurses and staff from cottage hospital. It was through one of the team’s member that I found out about the walk.

Flamenco dancers as pre-walk entertainment.

The event began at 9 a.m. with live music and flamenco dancers. The 3K walk commenced at 10 a.m. being led by children who are cancer survivors. Throughout the entire walk there were school cheerleaders from Santa Barbara High School and SB All-stars cheering on the individuals and teams.

I felt especially honored to be a part of this amazing fundraiser. In the future I hope to participate or volunteer for causes that help our community. I invite everyone to participate in next years walk to increase funding for this very important cause.