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Walk With Your Doc

Meredith Stanton

When endocrinologist David Bloomgarden, MD, first organized the Walk With Your Doc program in his town of White Plains, N.Y., he was fueling some friendly competition with David Blum, MD.

"The other endocrinologist always tried to do one better than me," recalls Bloomgarden, president of the Westchester Leadership Council of the American Diabetes Association, on which Blum also serves. Bloomgarden decided to up the ante about 5 years ago by organizing a team to participate in America's Walk for Diabetes, a signature ADA fundraising campaign.

"I wanted to really put myself out there and enlist the support of others," he says. "I started to promote this concept to further involve patients, friends, and families and to make a larger contribution."

Walk With Your Doc has since recruited hundreds of participants who have helped raise thousands of dollars. Bloomgarden's own Team Cure collected $25,000 last year and has a goal of $40,000 for 2005, all of which helps fund ADA research and support programs and increases awareness of the prevalence of diabetes.

Most of the walks take place between September and November. Nicole Preston, ADA's national director for special events, anticipates this year's Walk for Diabetes will attract more than 200,000 people to nearly 300 routes in local parks and neighborhoods, where they will raise more than $18 million.

"The teams are really important," Preston says. "When you get a big group together, it's a good method of getting people involved locally."

For Bloomgarden, support for his team and the walk has been rewarding. He says sign-up sheets, posters, and handouts in his office encourage patients and others to join the fundraising campaign. He reports that Blum has kept the cross-county rivalry going by joining a Walk for Diabetes team of his own.

"Patients have a certain level of pride in this," Bloomgarden says. "It's a wonderful effort, and I'd encourage participation everywhere."

Footnotes

FYI

To sign up for America's Walk for Diabetes, or to become a captain of your own walking team, call 1-888-DIABETES (1-888-342-2383) or visit http://walk.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWD _homepage.

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Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stanton, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Stanton, M. Social Bookmarking                What's this?