Walk to Cure Arthritis Comes to Atlanta

ATLANTA, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Help find a cure by participating in and fundraising for the 2014 Walk to Cure Arthritis on May 3 at Concourse Office Park in Atlanta, Ga. Formerly Arthritis Walk, Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation's signature, national fundraising event to prevent, control and cure the nation's leading cause of disability.

The Atlanta Walk to Cure Arthritis will feature local honorees that will share inspirational stories about their individual battles with arthritis. This year's honorees include 5-year-old Emme Pennington, 10-year-old Hunter Pruett and 41-year-old Vanessa Hamler. Pennington was diagnosed in December 2012 with Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA), the rarest form of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). After suffering pain that made it impossible for her to walk, she started receiving treatment and now enjoys participating in swim team, gymnastics and soccer. Pruett was diagnosed with JIA at five and a half years old and is a national ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation, who has traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with Congress about finding a cure. Finally, Hamler was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in March 2012 and has since become a national ambassador who attends health fairs and other events on behalf of the foundation.

Arthritis is a crippling disease that impacts more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children – or approximately 22 percent of the United States population. The disease costs the U.S. economy $128 billion dollars a year, and is a more frequent cause of activity limitation than heart disease, cancer or diabetes. Funds raised through the Atlanta Walk to Cure Arthritis will go toward programs, research and advocacy initiatives to help people today while finding a cure for tomorrow.

"Arthritis is costly, painful and debilitating, and makes a significant impact in the lives of people in your community," says Atlanta Corporate Chair, John Coalson, Alston & Bird, LLP. "By participating in and raising funds for Atlanta's Walk to Cure Arthritis, you will help us reach our goal of raising $250,000 to remove the burden of arthritis entirely by bringing us closer to a cure."

To learn more and register for the Atlanta Walk to Cure Arthritis, visit http://www.AtlantaWalkToCureArthritis.Kintera.org or contact Jamie Johnson at [email protected] or 678-237-4450. To learn more about the fight to cure arthritis, visit www.arthritiswalk.org. The walk is nationally presented by Amgen with additional support from Massage Envy Spa.

About the Arthritis Foundation
Striking one in every five adults and 300,000 children, arthritis is the nation's leading cause of disability. The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) is committed to raising awareness and reducing the impact of this serious, painful and unacceptable disease, which can severely damage joints and rob people of living life to its fullest. The Foundation funds life-changing research that has restored mobility in patients for more than six decades; fights for health care policies that improve the lives of the millions who live with arthritis; and partners with families to provide empowering programs and information.

Contact:
Claibourne Smith
[email protected]
954-893-9150

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SOURCE Arthritis Foundation

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