16th Annual Walk of Life Draws Thousands to Montgomery

Thousands of people walked through downtown Montgomery to raise funds for the Joy to Life Foundation.

The Joy to Life Foundation held its annual fundraiser, the “Walk of Life” walk in downtown Montgomery. People were able to choose to run a five or 10K race or walk the trail to raise money for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.

The Joy to Life Foundation’s main goal is to help women and men in Alabama who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. What sets this organization apart from others is the dedication to treatment and early detection, not just finding a cure. The Department of Public Health reports that the Joy to Life Foundation has helped provide Alabamians with nearly 80,000 mammograms since it was founded 16 years ago.

“People out there are always raising money for research,” says Joy to Life Co-Founder Dickie Blondheim. “There’s billions of dollars for research, there’s very little for mammograms. And that’s what we do. While they’re looking for that needle in the haystack to cure breast cancer, we’re saving lives.”

Thousands of people, both surviviors and the family of those going through or lost to cancer, came out for the walk. They were all there to celebrate each other and the family the illness brought together.

“Helping you, giving you the strength to get through it because you know there are so many other people who are like you,” says cancer patient Peggy Glassford. “And you come together and beat it, get through it. And I’ll tell you, I feel like I’ve entered into a family.”