This year the Kidney Walk in Trail is unveiling another way to help the cause even after the annual fundraising walk is over on Sunday.
Endless Adventure is hosting a rafting trip down the Columbia River at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. that day(Sept. 23). With a minimum donation of $15 per paddle, locals can float with adventure guides from Gyro Park to Rock Island and learn about the river, currents and how to play safe by the waterways.
All proceeds will be donated to the Trail Kidney Walk.
“I am very excited about the paddle,” says Kidney Walk coordinator Gwen Chernenkoff. “I grew up on the Slocan River, so this is natural for me to learn. I am planning on taking the first paddle.”
Seats are limited to eight to 10 people per paddle, and each float will take 90 minutes.
For reservations and payment details, call Chernenkoff at 250.304.7380.
Registration for the walk itself begins at 9 a.m. with a short stroll, along the pathway toward Sunningdale, starting at 10 a.m.
“There are so many people living with kidney disease, which is ‘the silent’ disease,” said Chernenkoff.
“Approximately 60 per cent of the patients that come to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital’s Renal Unit are from the Trail area,” she added. “The walk is very emotional.”
One in 10 Canadians has kidney disease, but most don’t know it yet, advises the Kidney Foundation of Canada, B.C. Yukon branch.
Kidney disease has no cure and is under-recognized, and undetectable in early stages. A kidney transplant is often a kidney patient’s best hope for a better quality of life, yet almost 50 per cent of people on the wait list for a kidney transplant will die waiting.
The Kidney Foundation is on a mission to change this and the annual Kidney Walk campaign is helping in the fight against kidney disease – one step at a time.
“It is really heartwarming to see a community like Trail come together like this and rally in support of kidney patients – it truly means the world to them,” says Marie Hesse, from the BC and Yukon branch.
“The Kidney Walk could not happen without the tremendous support of thousands of volunteers, donors and sponsors, and it is thanks to them that The Kidney Walk has grown to become one of our biggest success stories.”
The 11th annual Kidney Walk in Trail on Sunday will be one of 15 walks slated across the province that thousands of British Columbians will participate in.
