South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Pap Corps walkathon raises $14K for cancer research
The Palm Isles Chapter of The Pap
Corps recently hosted the 27th annual walkathon at the 55-and-over community in Boynton Beach to raise awareness of cancer research and the ongoing fight in finding treatments for a cure.
The socially distanced walkathon on
Feb. 15 had its largest turnout and raised $14,000 for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
The Palm Isles Chapter of The Pap Corps, which has over 550 members, was joined by other residents in their adult community, which is located east of Florida’s Turnpike and north of Boynton Beach Boulevard.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the fundraiser attracted walkers in small groups in a socially distanced setting. The men and women walkers also enjoyed the event with their dogs while others received assistance from their aides.
The bicycle and tricycle section was added for the first time as several participants rode on bikes and trikes as well as a scooter. The walkathon participants also included cancer survivors. The community has at least one resident in a clinical trial at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami.
According to event chairwoman Lorraine Bramble, the participants received walkathon T-shirts and masks. She was assisted by Palm Isles Pap Corps members, including Vice President of Fundraising Deena Gross. They had
135 people signed up to walk and raised $14,000 from 225 donors.
“We were spread out and staggered in groups in different sections,” Bramble said. “We had some residents that have not seen each other for a year and it was fun to mingle with our neighbors and they were upbeat and very excited.”
The vendors included Humana and Siperstein Dermatology Group. Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market also donated items, which included oranges, bananas and granola bars. The first group of walkers kicked off the event at 8:15 a.m. while the last group left at 11 a.m. The group of walkers during the event included the tennis and pickleball clubs from the community.
“We were outside spread out in the parking lot with the music playing,” Bramble said. “It was neat and a joyous occasion. It was great and really successful.”
Bramble previously organized events in Palm Isles to raise funds and donate masks for the Caridad Center Soup Kitchen in Boynton Beach, which included a socially distanced bingo fundraiser last summer while also hosting socially distanced card parties and fashion shows. Bramble created 1,250 masks to support the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Station in Boynton Beach and office workers this past year.
The Pap Corps, South Florida’s largest grassroots non-profit organization, provides support to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The Pap Corps was founded in 1952 and has grown to over 50 chapters. It has 22,000 members in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Visit thepapcorps.org/palm-isles/.