WATERTOWN, Mass. – On September 25th, the Armenian community of New England will come together in support of the 10th annual Walk of Life of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR). Every year, the pan-Armenian event in Watertown draws in the participation of the youth with large numbers of students from area schools and colleges. It also attracts the support of numerous community organizations and many public figures.
Established in 1999, ABMDR is a non-profit organization that helps save lives by recruiting and providing matched unrelated donors for bone marrow or stem cell transplantation to all Armenian and non-Armenian patients worldwide who are suffering from leukemia and other life-threatening blood related illnesses. Due to the unique genetic makeup of Armenians, it is nearly impossible to find suitable matches among the existing international registries. That’s why it’s so important to establish a registry that would help facilitate recruiting and identify unrelated bone marrow donor matches.
Over the past 10 years, the Walk of Life in New England has received support and sponsorship from several large and small businesses, including PROMETRIKA LLC of Cambridge, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Armenian-American Pharmacists’ Association (AAPA), Watertown Savings Bank, ThermOil, Inc., Armenia Tree Project, the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center (ACEC) and the AGBU New England District.
The walkathon’s opening ceremony will be held at the ACEC in Watertown, Massachusetts on September 25 at 11 am and will conclude at Faire on the Square in Watertown Square, where participants will gather to celebrate the day’s achievements and enjoy music, dancing and food.
Funds raised at the walk and all other donations go a long way to ensure ABMDR stays loyal to its mission, by educating the public, recruiting donors and thus building a robust donor registry, and facilitating bone marrow stem cell transplants for patients worldwide.
ABMDR New England is encouraging all community members to join the Walk of Life. Interested participants can also email [email protected].