Gabrielle Ferraiolo, a 5-year-old Royal Palm Beach resident, will be one of several people honored at the 2015 Walk to Cure Arthritis on Saturday, Oct. 31, Halloween morning, at John Prince Park in Lake Worth. The Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation’s signature, national fundraising event to fight arthritis, the nation’s leading cause of disability.
The West Palm Beach Walk to Cure Arthritis is a family and pet-friendly event that will include Halloween costume contests for kids and dogs, face painting, arts and crafts, trick-or-treating and family fun for all ages. On-site check-in and dog registration begins at 8 a.m., the walk begins at 9 a.m. and family fun follows at 10 a.m.
Three local honorees will share their inspirational stories about their battles with arthritis. Aside from Ferraiolo, other honorees are Marissa Salvador, 17, of Palm Beach Gardens and Rachel Reid, 42, of West Palm Beach.
Ferraiolo was just 2 years old when diagnosed with poly-articular juvenile arthritis. With extensive treatment, she is now a kindergarten student who is on her way to remission.
Arthritis impacts more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children, or about 22 percent of the United States population. The disease costs the U.S. economy $128 billion a year and is a more frequent cause of activity limitation than heart disease, cancer or diabetes. In Florida, 3.7 million adults and 16,000 children have arthritis.
Funds raised through the West Palm Beach 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,” said Lisa Roeberg, development manager for the Arthritis Foundation of Southeast Florida. “By participating in and raising funds for the West Palm Beach Walk to Cure Arthritis, you will help us reach our goal of raising $90,000 to remove the burden of arthritis entirely by bringing us closer to a cure.”
To register, visit www.walktocurearthritis.westpalmbeach.kintera.org or call (561) 833-1133. Register before Oct. 12 to be entered in a drawing to win a stay at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Since 1948, the Arthritis Foundation has remained committed to leading groundbreaking research for better treatments and a cure. Learn more at www.arthritis.org.
ABOVE: Gabrielle Ferraiolo
