232244
231507

Penticton  

Success for kidney walk

The annual Penticton Kidney Walk was well-attended and enjoyed Sunday morning at Gyro Park. 

"It was fantastic. We had more people than we've ever had, which is, for me, a really important piece of the pie," said Susan Keyes, Penticton Kidney Walk coordinator. "We had medical staff, kidney patients, we had just lots of people coming out in support."

Early estimates are that $27,000 to $28,000 was raised by the walk, which will go toward research projects and care initiatives aiming to tackle kidney disease.

Keyes was thrilled by the turnout.

"This town is amazing!" Keyes said. "The support that you get here is wonderful."

Last year, the walk in Penticton raised around $20,000, so the dollars raised in 2018 are very exciting for the organization. But Keyes said it's not just about the money. 

"Mostly it was the attendance that made it so banner, in my opinion," she said.

The 2.5-kilometre walk  started and ended in Gyro Park. Keyes was happy to see money raised, but also to see awareness being raised about the importance of organ donation.

"Donor registrations have been going up since 2007, and so I think overall we've increased donor registration by about 20 per cent in that time. It's really increased substantially in that time," Keyes said. 

A local couple, Al and Dorothy Mansfield, are a perfect example of the way organ donation can change a life. Dorothy was given a kidney from a living donor, Noreen, in June. Al is the owner of Penticton's White Spot restaurant, and he is donating $2 from every purchased entree on Sept. 23 to the Kidney Foundation.

If you missed the chance to participate in the Kidney Walk, you can still donate.

"The funds keep building right up until the end of the year, so people can still go online and donate," Keyes said.



More Penticton News



231274