Staff photo.
Families and friends gather at Patriot Park on Oct. 6, 2018, for the first Walk for Williams, which supportsthe Williams Syndrome Foundation.
Walk for Williams organizer and Homewood resident Sheetal Cordry said the walk, despite being only a year old, is already growing in community support.
More businesses are donating and sponsoring for the event, and she has a volunteer committee to plan the second annual walk rather than organizing it alone, Cordry said.
“Last year it was pretty big, and we’re hoping for… a bigger crowd this year. We were blown away,” she said.
Cordry started the local Walk for Williams fundraiser in 2018 because her daughter, 8-year-old Eva, has Williams syndrome. The genetic disorder causes developmental and learning delays as well as cardiac issues and other physical problems, but Eva is growing and flourishing at Hall-Kent Elementary with the help of teachers and therapies.
The 2019 Walk for Williams event will be Saturday, Oct. 5, at Patriot Park. After registration at 9 a.m., there will be a 1-mile walk around the park at 10 a.m., followed by a children’s fun run.
Afterward, Cordry said there will be food trucks, a bouncy house, music, face painting, giveaways and T-shirts for sale. She described the event as “celebrating people and all of our differences and all of our uniqueness.”
The inaugural event had around 125 people, she said, and she’s excited by the increased response she has already seen.
“Our community is just awesome. That’s the bottom line. And it’s really neat to see people’s excitement and people wanting to support and come together to do this,” Cordry said.
Registration is $20 per individual or $50 per family of two adults and two children. Kids 3 and younger are free.
For more information, registration or to donate to Williams syndrome awareness, visit events.williams-syndrome.org/event/birmingham-al-walk-2019/e239363.
