Taking the First Step

 

Your friend has asked you to join their Walk team.

You have always known that this friend’s life has been affected by __(Lupus, Cancer, Autism, etc.)___ and you have seen and maybe even donated to Walks like this one before, but can you be an actual team member? What do you do? How do you even help your team, fundraise, spread the word about the Walk, and most of all make people care?

This blog post is going to be a short and sweet about taking that first step.

1.       Decide what kind of team member you are going to be and  honestly relay that to your captain. Do you have the availability to lead fundraising efforts or are you more of a casual fundraiser with most of your energy going into making the day of the walk a success?

2.       Research your cause. You need to be prepared to answer any questions correctly and if you do not know the answer then have a few reliable sources ready to pass along.

The Walk is not just about fundraising; it is also about educating the public about something they may never have come in contact with before!

For example: What is lupus?

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years.

In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”) and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

• Lupus is not contagious, not even through sexual contact. You cannot “catch” lupus from someone or “give” lupus to someone.

• Lupus is not like or related to cancer. Cancer is a condition of malignant, abnormal tissues that grow rapidly and spread into surrounding tissues. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, as described above. However, some treatments for lupus may include immunosuppressant drugs that are also used in chemotherapy.

• Lupus is not like or related to HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) or AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In HIV or AIDS the immune system is underactive; in lupus, the immune system is overactive.

• Lupus can range from mild to life-threatening and should always be treated by a doctor. With good medical care, most people with lupus can lead a full life.

• Our research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus. The actual number may be higher; however, there have been no large-scale studies to show the actual number of people in the U.S. living with lupus.

• More than 16,000 new cases of lupus are reported annually across the country.

• It is believed that 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus.

• Lupus strikes mostly women of childbearing age (15-44). However, men, children, and teenagers develop lupus, too. Most people with lupus develop the disease between the ages of 15-44.

• Women of color are two to three times more likely to develop lupus than Caucasians.

• People of all races and ethnic groups can develop lupus.

This information was collected from lupus.org. Please visit to learn more about Lupus!

3.       Sign up! Create a dynamic profile that makes people want to donate to your cause, because this IS your cause now!