MD Anderson slates third annual Boot Walk to End Cancer®
Cancer survivors, MD Anderson supporters prepare to give cancer the boot on Saturday, Nov. 10
MD Anderson News Release October 25, 2018
Thanks to a grassroots campaign at Houston-area Walmart stores and generous support from individuals, teams and other corporate sponsors, fundraising already has generated more than $1.6 million as The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center makes final preparations for the Boot Walk to End Cancer®. Check-in for the third annual noncompetitive walk will open at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. The 1.2-mile walk starts at 1 p.m., beginning and ending at Bertner Avenue and East Road. Free parking will be available at MD Anderson's Mid Campus Garage, 7007 Bertner Ave. Free ADA parking will be available in the Armory Lot at 1902 Old Spanish Trail.
There's still time to start or join a team and be a part of the festivities with co-chairs Ashley and Lance Loeffler.
"MD Anderson holds a special place in our hearts," said Ashley Loeffler. "We're grateful to give back to a place that gives so much to so many."
Participants are encouraged, but not required, to wear their favorite boots to symbolize giving cancer "the boot." Registration (www.mdanderson.org/bootwalk) is free and open to all ages. Participants who raise at least $100 will earn a commemorative T-shirt, available for pick-up on event day or the week before the event. Strollers and baby joggers are allowed on the route. Participants are asked to leave pets at home, though service animals are welcome.
Event day will feature a festive finish line party, with live music, food trucks, face painting, balloon artists, lawn games, a Topgolf simulation booth, photo ops and more. Justin Stapleton, KPRC-TV meteorologist, will emcee the event, and Sarah Pepper of Mix 96.5 and George Lindsey of 100.3 The Bull will be on hand to cheer participants across the finish line.
“The Boot Walk is a wonderful opportunity to bring together all of us who have been touched by cancer," said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. "It's incredible to see the community coming together to support our efforts in Making Cancer History."
Sponsors include LyondellBasell (Presenting); PepsiCo (Diamond); Walmart (Gold); Boot Barn, IBC Bank and MustangCAT (Silver); and The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Regina Rogers and Topgolf (Bronze). In-kind media sponsors are Outfront Media, Univision, Modern Luxury, Texas Monthly, Lifestyles & Homes Magazines, Texas Tribune and Pandora. Media partners are Houston Medical Times, Houstonia, KPRC, 100.3 The Bull and Mix 96.5.
Since the Boot Walk's inception in 2016, more than 1,000 teams and 11,000 cancer survivors, caregivers, MD Anderson staff and supporters have raised approximately $2 million to support critical patient care and research programs.