Washington-Area “Light the Night” Walks

On Saturday evening, community members gathered in Rockville Town Center for Montgomery County’s Light the Night Walk, the fourth of five such Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) events in Washington this month. Previous walks took place in Old Town Manassas, Reston, and Leesburg, and the final one will take place this Saturday in DC. These annual walks are the area’s opportunity to show support and bring hope to those battling blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

The Rockville event, which brought together an estimated 2,000 people, was centered around a two-mile walk but included much more. The evening began with live music, food, family-fun activities, and inspiring words from cancer survivors and LLS organizers. As the sun set around 7, participants enthusiastically rallied and started the walk carrying illuminated balloons—white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold to commemorate lives lost to blood cancers.Last year, Light the Night Walks raised more that $39 million nationwide to benefit LLS’s mission to help find a cure for blood cancers, with the five Washington-area events raising $1.84 million. The Rockville event on Saturday raised $418,000 to date, with more money expected to come in postwalk. This year, the National Capital Area Chapter of LLS hopes to reach its goal of raising $2.1 million.

Help the local LLS chapter reach its goal this Saturday at its last Light the Night Walk of the year, which will take place in DC (13th Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.) Check-in begins at 5:30 PM; walk begins at 7. For more information, visit www.lightthenight.org/nca.

Claudia Bahar