A Successful 2021 Walk for LOVE & 5K

Shriners Children's Philadelphia has hosted its signature fundraising Walk for LOVE event since 2015.

The 1-mile fun walk, roll and stroll, and family festival benefiting the hospital has raised $1,144,189 over the last seven years. Many past and current patients, families, donors, Shriners and friends have walked to support our mission.

Prior to the pandemic, a decision was made to move the event from the LuLu Shrine chapter to the the nation's oldest zoo, in Philadelphia, and to add a 5K. As with many things during that time, we had to restructure our event to ensure the safety of all humans and animals alike. Ultimately, we had to cancel the 5K and change our typical "ready, set, go!" walk format to an exclusive walkabout stroll through the Philadelphia Zoo. Participants could explore the zoo at their own pace. It was a great day and many looked forward to returning in 2021.

This year, we celebrated with a more typical event format. It was a beautiful day and we were able to hold the 5K with over 100 runners participating. There were more than 1,300 people registered and 900+ people joined in person. We surpassed our goal and raised $313,000! Plus, this year's award ceremony included words from patient family favorites, Amer Samdani, M.D., chief of surgery, and Josh Pahys, M.D., pediatric orthopedic surgeon, as well as National Patient Ambassadors Seth and Sydney. Awards were given to the fastest runners overall and in all age groups. Additionally, teams with the largest number of participants and donations were awarded.

"The saying it takes a village happened for this year's Walk for LOVE & 5K. Thank you to all involved. Your dedication to our hospital enabled us to reach and exceed our goal! We are proud to say we have never changed our mission! Thanks to each of you, this year marked 95 years of providing the best orthopedic and rehabilitation care regardless of the family's ability to pay or insurance status," stated Terry Diamond, director of development

We are so grateful for all the support we received for this year's Walk for LOVE & 5K event and look forward to hosting the event again next year. Thank you to all our patients, friends, families, sponsors, donors, volunteers and employees who came out to support the event, raise awareness and celebrate their love for our Shriners Children's Philly community! The money raised will allow us to help children needing orthopedic care for years to come. We could not have done it without each and every one of you!