After exceeding their fundraising goal, Los Altos residents Aaron and Leah Nichols deemed their inaugural event to fight pancreatic cancer a success.
The 2016 Silicon Valley Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk, held Oct. 1 at Mountain View’s Shoreline Park, raised more than $54,000. The Nichols said their initial goal was $20,000, with a stretch goal of $50,000. The night before the event, a $5,000 donation put them over the top.
The 5-kilometer walk attracted more than 160 participants and 21 volunteers.
Hitting close to home
Several of the attendees were the couple’s family and friends; others took part after learning about the event in an Aug. 17 Town Crier article.
It was personal for many of the participants. The marketing director of one corporate sponsor lost a grandmother to pancreatic cancer, according to Leah, while the event’s face painter lost two family members to the disease.
“There was a sense of community and hope, and that we are trying to do something good, making progress with it and turning this around,” Leah said. “It’s just amazing – the people that are affected by the disease are very passionate about it.”
Aaron and Leah both lost their mothers to the disease – within 18 months of one another. That inspired them to organize the walk.
Several of their family members and friends flew to the Bay Area to help, traveling from South Carolina, Pennsylvania and even London. The Nichols recruited corporate sponsors as well: Andronico’s Market donated the food and water, while East West Music and Dance led the walkers in a pre-race warm-up. Casino M8trix and OneHope Wine donated money to the cause.
The Nichols family partnered with the Lustgarten Foundation, the nation’s largest private supporter of pancreatic cancer research, to make the event happen.
“What we love about Lustgarten is, of course, that 100 percent goes to research, but also they are more about the community than the flash, and their values are in line with ours,” Leah said. “(Lustgarten representative) Anne (Glauber) flew out from New York, and we honestly wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”
They also got some assistance from a local 10-year-old. Los Altos resident Mariam Kubursi kicked off the walk by singing the national anthem. Her rendition drew raves from the attendees, who cheered and clapped vigorously.
Once the walk was over, Leah was already thinking about next year. She promised that the walk will continue – with hopes of drawing more participants and raising more money in 2017.
“We really just want someone who is diagnosed to get the feeling that they can beat this thing and, while there are some people who do, statistics are really stacked up against them,” she said. “The research that is happening with the cutting-edge technology wouldn’t be happening without all these walks, so it really does add up and make a difference.”
To donate and for more information, visit 2016siliconvalleywalk.kintera.org.
