Media Contact:
Michelle Bailey – The Links, Incorporated
202-491-4872 | michellebailey@michellebaileymedia.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 4, 2019 –The Links, Incorporated hosted it’s 24th Annual National Walk-A-Thon, “Walk For Healthy Living,” on Saturday, September 28, 2019. More than 132 chapters across the country participated in these free and fun walks, bringing together thousands of family, friends and community members to walk for improved health and wellness. This event is part of the organization’s HeartLinks signature program, which focuses on taking an aggressive stance against heart disease, a condition that disproportionately affects the African-American community.
The nation’s capital, where The Links, Incorporated’s national headquarters is located, was a key location for this year’s walk, combining the efforts of eighteen (18) Links chapters across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV). The Links, Incorporated’s national president Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, PhD led the charge for #LinksOnTheMove at Hains Point in East Potomac Park, where more than 500 people participated. “To see this event grow to what it is has is truly amazing,” Dr. Jeffries Leonard said during her pre-walk program remarks. “We have an opportunity to make a difference…walk today, walk tomorrow, continue to walk because cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one killer among African-American women.” Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., echoed those sentiments. “Keep walking…to keep ourselves healthy, to keep our kids healthy, to keep our men healthy…so we can take advantage of the richness of our cities.”
Proud partners of this year’s “Walk For Healthy Living” Walk-A-Thon include The American Heart Association Greater Washington Region, The American Heart Association Greater Baltimore Region, the American Cancer Society, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), and the National Medical Association (NMA).
ABOUT “WALK FOR HEALTHY LIVING”
As part of the HeartLinks signature program, The Links launched its first national walk-a-thon in September 1995 in New York City, with 267 chapters hosting a local walk-a-thon on Saturday, September 30. The goal of Walk for Healthy Living is to promote walking as a healthy pastime, challenge the community and Links members to take 10,000 steps daily, and encourage Link members to improve their health and that of their families and communities. Links walk-a-thons are sponsored by Links chapters throughout communities nationwide during the last weekend in September.
ABOUT THE LINKS, INCORPORATED
The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 16,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Links members
contribute more than 1 million documented hours of community service annually — strengthening their communities and enhancing the nation. For more information, visit www.linksinc.org.
