Once of the most satisfying aspects of completing the Avon Walk is talking with other participants about why they walk.  Every single person has a story, or multiple tales, as to why they would train so hard and ask for monetary support from friends and family time and time again.  When you are walking in close proximity to one another, it is natural to strike up conversations and find out the reasons and inspirations that bring these women and men out for the challenge.

Debbie was touched by this young man who was walking with this mother.  She is a survivor and they took this opportunity to share a special accomplishment with one another. What a memory to cherish.  We walked behind five young women on day two.  The back of their shirts read, “I’m walking for Dad and her Mom.” with an arrow that pointed outward. Then another said “I’m walking for my Mom and her Dad” with a similar arrow. Turns out they were three sisters and a friend from Palo Alto, CA.  The sisters’ father had died from breast cancer, which is not uncommon.  The other girl, who was probably in her early 20s, lost her Mom to breast cancer.  They were all tall, thin and beautiful California girls, one was the club volleyball coach at Stanford, the friend who joined the sisters, was a player who the woman coached.  This was their third walk, and first in New York.  Pictures, poems, quotes and long lists of names decorated the backs and fronts of shirts and hats and inspired everyone to put one foot forward to making a difference in this fight.