Winter, 2000
Customer Polly Letofsky is taking the concept of a Breast Cancer Walk to a whole, new level.
Instead of walking a few days from city to city, Polly has embarked on a 4-year journey that has taken her through the Western United States and will take her from New Zealand to Australia, through Singapore to Malaysia, then China, Russia and Europe before heading home to Colorado.
“I had the idea to walk around the world when I was 12,” Polly remembers. “But I always knew I wanted it to be about something bigger than my own, personal adventure.” When Polly lost an aunt to breast cancer, her mission became clear: Walk around the world as a means of raising funds for breast cancer research and raising awareness of possible environmental causes of the disease.
Polly began the first leg of her Global Walk in August, 1999, leaving her home in Vail, Colorado for Los Angeles, California. “About a hundred friends and family walked with me for the first mile,” says Polly.
“Women who got word of the walk on the way would join me through town or for a few miles.” Polly averaged about 16 miles a day during the three-month trek.
In Los Angeles for the last several months organizing the next leg of the walk, Polly has been busy contacting sponsors and increasing awareness of her cause. But, she stresses, this is a grass roots effort. “I have no major, corporate sponsors,” Polly reports, “but I have friends, for example, whose children raised enough money to buy me a pair of shoes through their hot chocolate stand, and that means so much.”
Polly says those interested in supporting Global Walk can contribute financially, donate goods and services—especially international travel and lodging—or even simply email her. “On the international legs of my journey, especially, I may feel a bit disconnected,” Polly speculates. You can contact Polly at Polly@globalwalk.org. Having gotten hooked on Jamba’s Protein Berry Pizazz while in Los Angeles, Polly says she wishes there were Jamba Juices down under, “about every ten miles,” she laughs.
For further information, visit Global Walk at the organization’s web site, www.globalwalk.org, or via the U.S. mail at 857 Curson Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036.
*The Corporate Newsletter of Jamba Juice, a health drink purveyor. See their website at www.jambajuice.com