The 10th annual Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Muscle Walk fundraiser was held outside the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh last Saturday. This event brought together families, businesses and campus organizations across the Triangle to support this special cause. 

What started as a network of no more than three families showing their support for the MDA, this event now attracts hundreds of people every year. 

By 10 a.m., crowds were already gathered around the center, eager to participate in this fundraiser. With food, fun and music, the walk produced an atmosphere of enthusiasm and energy among everyone present. 

The Triangle Muscle Walk was established in 2003 with just a handful of MDA families meeting in Cary Towne Center to do exactly the same thing as this year, but on a much smaller scale. With dozens of families and businesses involved in this year’s fundraiser, the impact of the MDA in the Triangle area and beyond is continually increasing. 

With more than $35,000 raised this year alone, the money goes towards everything from medical research to sending kids with muscular dystrophy to summer camp.  

Blake Stansell, a freshman in human biology, talked excitedly about his first year participating in the walk. 

“I had a great time and it was awesome to see all the hope and support of every person there,” Stansell said. “You could definitely feel the energy, and it was cool to see how many people were involved.”    

After everyone completed the registration phase, participants did approximately six laps around the Duke Energy Center. The event concluded with a distribution of awards toward individual teams for their efforts. The team with the most successful fundraising experience raised almost $22,000.