Help Fight Kidney Disease Sunday

ROYAL OAK — More than 900,000 Michigan residents are living with chronic kidney disease. This Sunday, metro Detroit residents can do something to fight back against the disease by participating in the Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo.

Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and the walk will be held at approximately 8:45 a.m. For the past 21 years, more than 70,000 metro Detroit walkers and supporters have teamed up to raise more than $6 million for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan’s annual Kidney Walk and this year the goal is to raise $600,000 more.

As the organization’s largest fundraising event, 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to the Foundation’s programs and services that prevent chronic kidney disease and improve the quality of life for Michigan residents.

Rochester Hills mother Jessica Hale and her daughter three-year-old daughter, Amelia, will be participating in the event. The little girl was born with just one functioning kidney and is in need of a transplant. Funds raised by the Kidney Walk help make such transplants possible.

“It’s a great cause,” Jessica Hale said. “All donations go to finding a cure for kidney disease."

(For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Novi Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The Kidney Walk will draw attention to the importance of early detection and kidney disease prevention, while raising funds in support of kidney patients and their families. Here are a few important facts about kidney disease that you may not know:

iabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of chronic kidney disease

• 70% of kidney disease can be prevented
• One in nine people in Michigan have kidney disease

Event: Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo
Date: Sunday, May 21
Time: Registration- 7:30 a.m. Walk: 8:45 a.m.
Location: Detroit Zoo, 450 W 10 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067

Registration is $25 per person (over the age of 12) and $10 per child for ages 3-12 and includes parking, Zoo admission, and activities. Kids under the age of 2 years old are free. Additional fundraising beyond the registration fee is encouraged. Participants who raise $100 or more receive a Kidney Walk t-shirt.

Photo courtesy of the National Kidney Foundation