Walk for Hope 2021 Virtual Event Recap

Nearly 60 teams of patients, families and friends of the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease joined together – virtually – to support the 12th annual Walk for Hope. The annual event raises funds to support inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research and care at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

This year, due to COVID-19 concerns, the event was held virtually, and families found dozens of ways to get active and raise funds. Participants walked, ran, jumped, hiked, played hockey, softball and tennis, cycled, danced and even flipped (on mats and a trampoline) to get active to support breakthroughs in care and knowledge about IBD. Participants asked friends and families for donations to support their goal.

Together, the teams raised more than $159,000 – and counting – to fuel new breakthroughs in care to fuel faster diagnosis, improved treatments and revolutionary research to create new hope for children with IBD, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is now the fastest-growing autoimmune disorder in children younger than age 5. CHOP’s Center for Pediatric IBD treats more than 1,800 young patients who suffer from abdominal pain, intestinal inflammation and other systems.

The culmination of the weeklong event was a virtual presentation on Sunday, April 25, that included:

• An introduction co-hosted by Jill Horner, a Comcast reporter and IBD mom, as well as Emmy, a CHOP IBD patient
• Dozens of photos and video vignettes of Walk for Hope patient ambassadors and their families
• Short videos of IBD Center staff sharing letters from patients
• An interview – hosted by Emmy – with pediatric gastroenterologists and IBD co-directors Robert N. Baldassano, MD, and Andrew B. Grossman, MD.

Watch the Walk for Hope program.