Help Mito Kids is a family run organization dedicated to spreading awareness about and raising money for the life-threatening genetic disorder Mitochondrial Disease. It was started by a family with three children touched by the disease and the all-volunteer non-profit organization has grown to include many local Oak Ridge students from the Interact Club and ASB Student Leadership. In fact, the fundraiser for the organization, Help Mito Kids 5K Walk/Run, was started by an Oak Ridge student eight years ago!
Mitochondrial Disease can be tricky to understand; we have mitochondria that exist in nearly every cell of our bodies that are responsible for producing 90% of our energy needed to function. In someone affected with the disease, the mitochondria do not function properly and fail to convert food and oxygen into life-sustaining energy. The parts that need the energy the most (heart, brain, muscles, and lungs) are the most affected. This disease can cause strokes, seizures, gastrointestinal problems, blindness, deafness, muscle failure, heart/kidney/liver problems, and failure to thrive, among a multitude of other issues.
Help Mito Kids strives to alleviate the financial burdens of families in a couple different states. There are many out of pocket medical expenses for these affected families as well as the costs of travel to visit the few specialists in the country. All proceeds from the 5K Walk/Run go to help these families and to aid research at Stanford University.
This year the annual Help Mito Kids 5K Walk/Run will take place on April 22 at 9AM at the Steven Young Amphitheater in El Dorado Hills Town Center. The organization has put a focus this year on making it an even more family-friendly event than ever before! Kids under the age of 10 can participate for FREE! There will be kid-friendly entertainment during the post-race, including nail painting, tattoos, bubbles, music, prizes, and many more fun activities! You can also join the group for the pre-race warm up, which will engage kids and parents alike in a fun routine to get ready for the run!
Come out an join us for a fun family event!
To register, please visit
helpmitokids.org
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