Sacramento HDSA Walk: How It All Began

 I want to share the story of how I got involved in organizing the first five years of the Team Hope Walk - Sacramento. This is the Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s (HDSA) fundraising and awareness raising event in Sacramento. I had been actively volunteering with HDSA, helping with various events and activities. After attending several walks, I remember when Penny Riley, a wonderful woman who worked for HDSA, asked me if I’d like to host and organize the first walk in Sacramento. Penny has always been like a mother figure to me, and even after all these years, she’s still a part of my life—a true angel.

I was beyond excited that Penny thought of me for this. My best friend, Kristen Stoll, and I co-ran the event. We pulled together an amazing team of friends and family to help with planning. We held our first walk in William Land Regional Park, a place that holds special memories for me, as it’s where I grew up. Friends and family, including my dad, helped gather raffle donations from local businesses to make the event even more special.

To help raise funds, we organized a series of fun pre-walk events. One of the most memorable of these was our kickoff party at Riverside Clubhouse, where I was working as a server at the time. A portion of the night’s food and drink sales went toward the walk. We also partnered with our local minor league baseball team, the Sacramento River Cats, for a game night where they announced our presence and helped raise awareness for Huntington’s disease. Our trivia night at a local restaurant was another hit, with people coming together for a fun night of food, games, and raffles.

To promote the event, the local news team ran a segment, and I was interviewed by The Sacramento Bee to share my HD story and bring attention to the walk.

The day of the walk was designed to be fun for HD families and to raise awareness. After the walk, we had affordable donated food, live music, raffles, a dunk tank, and even a photo booth. We also sold T-shirts that we had designed, and it was such a joy seeing everyone wearing them.

One of the highlights of the first walk was the car show, which my dad helped organize. His group of car friends entered their classic cars into the show, and we displayed them along the walk path. Participants got to vote for their favorite cars, and we gave out trophies for the winners in different categories.

But the best part of the walk for me was meeting the HD families. Every year, there was always someone new who we could shower with love and support. I still remember the first year when we met a young girl with juvenile HD. Her story touched everyone’s hearts. Another year, we met a woman named Lisa, who fell in love with a red Corvette at the car show. It belonged to one of my dad’s close friends, so we arranged for her to take a ride in it. The smile on her face was priceless—that’s one of my favorite memories.

The walk became more than just an event. It became a place where people could connect, feel supported, and know they’re not alone on this journey.

If you would like to support or attend the 2024 Team Hope Walk - Sacramento, it’s coming up next weekend September 21st and I’d love to see you there!  Details are here: https://northernca.hdsa.org/events/2024-team-hope-walk-sacramento