Why I Care Walk: Making An Impact
Chi Pham and Faye Lam’s stories
“I would like to encourage everyone to participate in the Care Walk in even the smallest fashion because you may not know the impact you could be making for future generations.”
So says Chi Pham, who along with Faye Lam and several others have been organizing the “Team DC Chillin’” Care Walk in the Washington DC area for the last several years.
“The 2012 Care Walk was a very positive experience for me,” Chi says. “I not only gained a lot of knowledge about organizing a philanthropic event but realized that there is a lot of generosity within the community that I live in.
“I had originally planned to have a small Walk in the DC area but in a short amount of time we (myself and two other thalassemia patients that were assisting me) had exceeded our expectations of registered users, our donation goal, and the support from our friends and family. It was great to see friends and family come together in support of the foundation and ultimately us, the thalassemia patients. The generosity from our family, friends and vendors was so overwhelming that we couldn’t wait to do this again in 2013.”
Faye adds, “I really like that the Care Walk is so flexible. We are able to choose our own location, distance, and time. When I tell people about the Care Walk, I tell them how much CAF has helped me over the years. In addition to helping raise awareness and funds for CAF, supporting the Care Walk is supporting me, a person who has thalassemia.”
“The Care Walk is definitely a unifying experience for the thalassemia community,” Chi says. “It brought many patients and families together and it also introduced us to other patients. We had a few people come up to us either during the walk or while organizing it who said that they too were thalassemia patients. It was reaffirming to know that thalassemia patients are not alone and that many others in the community are willing to help.”
“I am very fortunate to be a rather healthy individual living with thalassemia,” Chi adds. “I have never felt that this disease has been debilitating or has limited my quality of life. I believe that all of that can be attributed to my parents, the doctors who cared for me, the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, and the patients who came before me.
“Now that I have children of my own, I feel like it is my duty to raise awareness of thalassemia and the Foundation for future generations. I would like to encourage everyone to participate in the Care Walk in the smallest fashion because you may not know the impact you could be making for future generations.”
If you’re not involved in a Care Walk yet, you can register yourself at http://bit.ly/carewalk2018.