Long Island Walk
Approaching $1 million!
Our flagship Long Island walk is approaching the million dollar mark! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the walk. It was a great day – full of hope and promise. There has never been a more hopeful time for patients, but we can’t stop now. Please keep those donations coming so we can fund even more research!
About 5,000 people attended our annual event at Jones Beach for a day of hope and celebration. When the walk first began 18 years ago, there were no survivors attending the walk. This year, there were more than 20 survivors in attendance.
Laura Polen, who was in the hospital recovering from a Whipple procedure during last year’s walk, was so happy to be able to walk with all of her family and friends this year. “It’s so inspiring to see everyone here today,” she said. “There is a great feeling of hope.”
The walk attracts people from all over the tristate area and beyond. One family from Westchester comes to the Long Island walk every year because their mother, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010, loved the beach. It’s their way of honoring her.
Whether you are a patient, survivor or lost a loved one to pancreatic cancer, the walk is a chance to celebrate, reflect and know that you are changing the course of this disease. “It’s a reminder to us that what we are doing matters to so many people and that we need to work faster,” said our Chief Scientist David Tuveson, MD, Ph.D.
The only way we can work faster is by raising money which is why our walk program is so critical. While Long Island is our largest walk and has raised close to $16 million dollars for research, we have 40 walks in 20 states throughout the year.
“All of our walks are so important and we are grateful to the dedicated volunteer walk leaders across the country who make them happen,” said Kerri Kaplan, our President and CEO. “Without them and the thousands of people who walk each year, we can’t fulfill our mission.”
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