LANDOVER, Md., Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Epilepsy Foundation today launched the 2.6-million-mile challenge to encourage people across the country to walk 2.6 million miles and raise $1.75M collectively for the 1 in 26 people living with epilepsy. The challenge is part of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Walk to END EPILEPSY® series, a platform to create awareness, share stories, help educate others, and raise funds for people living with epilepsy.
“The pandemic has changed many things, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to our epilepsy community,” said Geoff DeLizzio, Chief Development Officer, Epilepsy Foundation. “We have reimagined this year’s Walk to END EPILEPSY and are encouraging everyone across the nation to hit the streets, trails and treadmills as we complete the first-ever 2.6-million-mile challenge together. No matter where you live, with each step and fundraising dollar, we’re closer to helping people with epilepsy be free from epilepsy and free from fear of the next seizure.”
Epilepsy can affect anyone. Over a lifetime, one in 10 people will have a seizure, and one in 26 will be diagnosed with epilepsy. Despite its prevalence, epilepsy receives ten times less the funding than other brain disorders.
Individuals, small teams of family and friends, can walk a mile a day or 100 a week to help get to the 2.6-million-mile goal together, as one. People make a pledge to walk at least 26 miles and set their fundraising goal. As they walk in their neighborhood or treadmill, they log in their miles. The money raised funds services for people living with epilepsy; training on proper seizure recognition and first aid; advocacy to ensure health care options remain strong for people living with seizures; and research for better treatments and cures.
The Epilepsy Foundation is hosting an opening ceremony to kick off the walk series on May 1 and a closing ceremony on June 5. For more information or to register as a Walk participant in your neighborhood, visit www.walktoendepilepsy.org/challenge.
About Epilepsy
According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder worldwide with no age, racial, social class, national or geographic boundaries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates that 3.4 million people in the United States are affected by epilepsy. It is the underlying tendency of the brain to produce seizures which are sudden abnormal bursts of electrical energy that disrupt brain functions.
About the Epilepsy Foundation
With a network of partners throughout the United States, the Epilepsy Foundation is leading the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy. The Foundation connects people to treatment, support and resources; leads advocacy efforts; funds innovative research and the training of specialists; and educates the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid. For more than five decades, the Epilepsy Foundation has shone a light on epilepsy to promote awareness and understanding, and to advocate for laws that matter to people with epilepsy, while also funding epilepsy research and supporting epilepsy investigators and specialists in their early careers. In partnership with the CDC, the Epilepsy Foundation has helped to improve access to care for people with epilepsy, expanded its digital reach and online resources in homes across the country, and trained more than 600,000 people in seizure recognition and first aid. The Epilepsy Foundation continues to focus on serving the epilepsy community through advocacy, education, direct services and research for new therapies. To learn more visit epilepsy.com or call 1.800.332.1000. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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SOURCE Epilepsy Foundation
