Participants walk to raise funds and awareness for healthy lungs and healthy air.
American Lung Association in California Fight for Air Walk

October 2, 2010 – Fontana Park

Fontana, CA – The American Lung Association in California will host its Fight for Air Walk on Saturday, October 2, at Fontana Park to raise funds and awareness in support of healthy lungs and healthy air.  The Fight For Air Walk is a 2.5 mile walk that attracts participants of all ages and abilities.

“Californians breathe some of the worst air in the nation,” says Terry Roberts, Area Director for the American Lung Association in California – Inland Empire. “In the 2010 State of the Air Report, the American Lung Association ranked the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside as two of the most polluted cities in the nation. Air pollution causes and aggravates lung conditions including asthma, lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic lung disease. We walk because everyone deserves to breathe clean and healthy air.”

This year’s Fight for Air Walk has attracted a unique group of participants including:

• Jennifer Smith of Hesperia, walking in memory of her daughter, Michelle, who lost her life to asthma.  Jennifer and her family want to raise awareness about the severity of asthma, and wish to help other children who struggle to breathe everyday.
• Gabriel Lloyd and his team of family and friends, the Asthma All Stars, walking for the fourth year in a row.  Gabriel was diagnosed with severe asthma at the age of 2, and although his asthma is now under control, he is still affected by the unhealthy air he breathes.
• Karen O’Cull lost her mother, father, and grandfather to lung cancer.  She is walking to honor their memories, and to expose the deadly effects of smoking.  Karen wants to raise awareness about the connection between smoking and lung cancer in the hopes of saving lives.

Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and is responsible for one in seven deaths nationwide.   Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women, killing more people than breast, colorectal prostate, and pancreatic cancers combined. Lung disease is particularly prevalent in California.  Ninety percent of Californians live in areas with unhealthy air, contributing to breathing problems for the nearly five million of our state’s citizens afflicted with asthma, including nearly one million children.

Online registration is open until Thursday, September 30 at www.FightForAirWalk.org.  On-site registration will begin at 8:00 a.m.  For more information, the public should contact Terry Roberts at (909) 884-5864 or visit www.FightForAirWalk.org

Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.lungusa.org/california.