Our ‘2nd Annual Steps to A Cure’ event benefitting Oligo Nation was held the weekend of November 12, 2022. We intentionally held the San Francisco Bay Area walk in my family’s hometown of South San Francisco. We couldn’t have been more blessed by the beautiful weather and reflection of the sun over the shimmering bay at Oyster Point. On Friday night prior to the walk, while I knew that our fantastic volunteer team supported by Oligo Nation would do a terrific job, I was a little anxious about the weather, people finding the parking lot, and how the event would go in general. As it turns out, it all went better than I could’ve even imagined.
Steps Around the World
Before we even left for setup at 7:00 a.m. for the Bay Area event, I was already getting pictures from friends who had completed their own walks in their own towns. People rallied and walked with us literally around the world! The first walkers had already completed their steps in Virginia and North Carolina before California got started! And then…I saw my cousins, aunts and uncles in Michigan sending photos and videos at their start line as well. The photos of smiling faces kept pouring in…from Ohio, to New York, to Washington, D.C., to Nebraska, to South Carolina, to across the world in Germany, Iraq, Greece, and a final walk in Canada! And as we shared updates during the lead-up to the walk, we had even more family and friends in Arizona, Oregon, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Michigan, and Japan among other locations cheering us on. I am awed by all of the positive energy, generosity and goodwill generated around the world by Steps to a Cure.
Power of Community
Back to the Bay Area! Our San Francisco Bay Area in-person event this year gathered over 50 people - both Bay Area residents as well as friends and family who came in from New York and Los Angeles. As I looked at the people who had come together, it was very clear to me that Steps to a Cure has become something much bigger than my own family and friends! We had my mom’s teacher friends walking, my brother-in-law’s family members, my sisters’ friends all the way back from elementary school, sisters’ colleagues, high school classmates I hadn’t seen in decades, neighbors from South San Francisco, family friends we’ve had since I moved to California at the age of 7, members of the yoga community, and members of the Bay Area Lithuanian American community. We had other individuals and families walking who have also been affected by oligodendroglioma, among other cancers. A fellow survivor (a thriver!) told me at the walk to take a moment to soak it all in - that what we’d done was incredible. And it truly was! A major highlight of our own walk was a fourth grader from South City coming in first among all participants - go Jacob! An additional highlight was seeing people’s smiling faces at the end of the walk enjoying refreshments, sunshine, music and one another’s company.
Inspiration of Coming Together for a Worthy Cause,
“On a scale from one to ten, I’d rank this walk at infinity.” If the success of the walk can be rated by a trusted source, then my dad gave the quote of the day. The weather, the beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay along the trail, and the individuals stepping, walking, laughing, and being together, all for a very worthy cause, created an incredible sense of inspiration and hope. It’s that powerful sense of hope that will fuel my efforts to continue supporting Oligo Nation in its quest for more efficient treatments for oligodendroglioma in the near future.
Thank you so much to Oligo Nation, thank you to my family members and volunteers who organized the event (Detta, Monyca, Baur, Alan & team), and thank to you friends and family near and wide for your participation - whether by joining us in person in South San Francisco, for your walks around the world, or for your support to our family and contributions to Oligo Nation!
November 13, 2022
Photo: Currier family and friends stepping together, Oyster Point, South San Francisco
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