Walk from Obesity: Raising Funds in Philadelphia—Summer 2019
by Kimberly Knipe, MBA, RD, LDN
Ms. Knipe is HUP Bariatric Program Coordinator, Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Funding: No funding was provided
Disclosures: The author has no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.
Bariatric Times. 2019;16(12):18.
Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery hosted the 2019 Philadelphia Walk from Obesity and Fun Run on Sunday, June 9, 2019. The walk attendees and organizers enjoyed a beautiful, warm, sunny day in beautiful Penn Park. Teams showed up in style, including fun shirts from Team Freudian Skip, with the back of the shirts reading, “Let’s run this mother.” Other teams were led by former patients, such as Team Reef, and others were started by hospital system departments, such as Presby’s O.R. Divas, Team Tewksbury, and HUP Heroes. Some participants pushed strollers, some brought dogs, and still others ran with their children.
The event benefitted the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Foundation. The vision of the ASMBS is to improve public health and well-being by lessening the burden of the disease of obesity and related diseases throughout the world. The mission of the ASMBS Foundation is to raise funds for conducting research and education, increasing public and scientific awareness and understanding, and improving access to quality care and treatment of obesity and morbid obesity.
The day began with registration, fun activities for the children of participants, and a raffle to continue to raise funds for the foundation. I welcomed the participants, staff, and sponsors, and a friendly crowd warmly applauded the announcements of top individual and team fundraisers.
As participants got ready for the walk, the DJ accommodated the party atmosphere by playing some upbeat dance music. A local college student was happy to lead the enthusiastic group in some dancing and stretching to warm up for the morning’s activity.
Walk participants were encouraged to walk or run at their own pace as much or as little as they wished. Less mobile participants and families with young children finished one lap, while some energetic souls completed the loop many times.
Overall, the Walk and Fun Run had more than 100 attendees and raised $12,420. Along with sponsorships, event participation fees, and donations raised by participants, Penn employees filled baskets with wonderful gifts and raffled them off to visitors and employees during the weeks leading up to the event. Tickets to the traveling production of Hamilton in Philadelphia were also raffled off among Penn Surgery employees.
Penn Medicine and ASMBS Foundation were grateful to have local and national groups sponsor this event. Local sponsors included Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program, Temple Center for Obesity Research and Education, Novo Nordisk, Boehringer, and Robard Corporation. The Wawa Foundation also provided bottled water for event participants and contributed a sponsorship level donation after the event was over. Bariatric Advantage Nutritional Products was a national sponsor for ASMBS in 2019.
We look forward to even greater success at the Philadelphia walk in 2020!
Category: Past Articles, Symposium Synopsis
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