Saturday April 20th was a very special event for our community. It was the Michael Hoefflin walk for kids with cancer.
The Michael Hoefflin Foundation Walk is an event that commemorates families whose children are fighting cancer, or families who have lost their children to the fight against cancer. At the walk, speeches are given by child cancer survivors, people that are affiliated with the Michael Hoefflin foundation, and by Michael Hoefflin’s parents.
Michael Hoefflin unfortunately lost his life to cancer on May 15th, 1996. While on the journey of fighting cancer, the Michael Hoefflan foundation was formed in September 1995. Michael left behind an extremely inspiring story, fighting hard every step of the way and even trying to help others in need while fighting.
The event housed many fun activities, including tons of fun games, inflatable bounce houses, a tall flight of stairs, to climb and descend, and volleyball and basketball for everyone to play and enjoy. The family and community ties were very strong at the event, and many emotions were shared, sad and happy.
The official walk started at 9:15 am, kicked off by the Golden Valley Jazz Ensemble. The walk had around 300 participants, and spanned all the way across Central Park. In addition, the Golden Valley Jazz Ensemble and the Saugus Jazz Band also performed live music for all of the event goers to enjoy.
The Michael Hoefflin walk was a very personal and special event to Golden Valley’s own band director, Angel Nazario. He stated “The walk is meant to spread awareness but also fundraise for their organization.”
We hope that in many years to come, we can see more participants taking part in this amazing event. This event has raised over $2 million in total to help with research for kids with cancer. This foundation has been a miracle for young children and has really given them hope to live their lives. We hope you can come support and walk with us next year!
