Avon Breast Cancer Walk

More and more women are now taking part in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk.  This is a fund raising campaign which has been set up to help fight breast cancer.  Participants who take part in this two day walk have to raise at least $1,800 and the event which has been held since 2003 in eight cities in the USA.  However, in 2005 the campaign was able to raise millions of dollars in donations simply because they were able to gather together thousands of walkers to take part.

Many of the participants of the Avon Breast Cancer walk has said that they feel a certain sense of accomplishment in knowing that they have taken an active role in fighting breast cancer and also providing help to millions of women around the world.
The walk is spread over a two day period (Saturday and Sunday) and it is your decision how far you go.  Many participants usually choose to cover the same distance as a marathon (26.2 miles) and they spread this over the two days.  Other people may decide to walk a full marathon on say the Saturday and then do a half marathon on the Sunday.  In total these people will have walked over 39 miles.  But the decision is yours and you do not have to make up your mind until you get there.
As previously stated anyone who participates in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk must commit to raising at least $1,800 in donations.  Although this may seem like a vast sum to raise, it is actually easier then you think.  The team that are involved with the Avon Breast Cancer Walk will be there to help you all the way in your fund raising efforts and you will find that many people around you will admire you for effort in helping to fight cancer and provide you with significant donations.

Anyone who registers to take part in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk is assigned a member of staff who will help you with not only learning about fund raising, but also with the physical training side of things.  They will answer any questions you have on fund raising as well help you set up a fund raising and physical training plan.  Any one who participates in the walk receives a handbook containing fund raising and training information and they also receive a personal webpage which can also be used in the raising of funds.

Each walk begins early in the morning with a short ceremony which provides the participants with inspiration.  During the walks those taking part are provided with different kinds of support, such as rest stops, portable toilets, water, sports drinks, snacks and basic medical assistance if required.  The walkers also find that lunch is served on route.  Those people who decide to spend the night at the camp (two person tents provided) set up will also find that they have hot showers, food, massages and entertainment available to them.  At the end of the event on the Sunday evening another ceremony is held to celebrate what the participants have accomplished over the two days.

Any money that is raised through this campaign goes to the Avon Foundation and is used for research and treatment of breast cancer.  The main goal of this campaign is to raise money to help those who are unable to afford cancer treatment such as the poor, elderly, those whose insurance does not cover them for treatment of breast cancer and those in minority groups.  It is said that about 43million people who live in the USA do not have health insurance and half of these are women.  Research has found that both Asian American and African American women are twice as likely to not have insurance than a white woman, whilst Hispanic women are more than three times less likely to have insurance than white women.