San Diego Hospice Keeps Pace with Third Annual Melisa & Kaye’s Memorial 5K Walk and Fun Run

Participant numbers and donations expected to increase for third straight year

(San Diego) – Enthusiastic participants of all ages, canine and human alike, will join forces for the third annual Melisa & Kaye’s Memorial 5K Walk and Fun Run held by San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine on Saturday, March 31 at NTC Park at Liberty Station.

The event celebrates the lives of loved ones lost, as well as those directly impacted by hospice and palliative medicine programs throughout San Diego County. Along with the 5K Walk and Fun Run, it features a Health Fair and activities for kids. The walk brings people together to create awareness about San Diego Hospice and its unique services.

The fundraising walk and fun run got off to a record-breaking start in 2010, broke its own records in 2011, and is expected to beat them again in 2012. An all-time high of 1,357 participants on 93 teams raised over $120,000 to support hospice and palliative medicine programs throughout San Diego County last year.

The walk is named after Melisa Reasner McGuire and her mother Kaye Woltman. Melisa was a compassionate and caring person who lost her valiant battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 37. Kaye was a brilliant business woman and philanthropist who battled cancer and passed away on our service in August 2010. Kay was committed to our mission and thus made it her mission to promote the work of San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, through her generous spirit and tireless advocacy efforts.

People and pets of all ages are invited to join us! Put your team together and sign up online at www.sdhospice.org/walk or send email to walkinfo@sdhospice.org. Participation and sign-up is FREE. Participants who raise $50 or more will receive an event t-shirt. 

Sponsorship opportunities are still available! Special thanks to Presenting Sponsors are Girard Securities, Inc. and The Richard and Kaye Endowment; Leadership Sponsors are Marty and David Pendarvis; Supporting Sponsors are Barney & Barney and The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation; and Patron Sponsor is Aero Auto Repair. To become a sponsor, contact Tylie Daniels in the San Diego Hospice Foundation at tdaniels@sdhospice.org or call (619) 278-6509.

About San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine

San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine is one of the largest community-owned, nonprofit hospices in the country, bringing compassionate, expert medical care to more than 1,200 seriously ill adults and children each day throughout San Diego County.  For more information, visit www.sdhospice.org or call toll-free 866-688-1600. Join San Diego Hospice's online communities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and The Caregiver's Corner Blog.