New York State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) and Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D-WF, Manhattan) will be in attendance on Saturday, September 19, for the 5k Walk to Fight Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases. They will present the LE&RN Youth Ambassador Award to 7-year-old Emma Detlefsen.
Emma led her team, Emma's Incredibles, across the Brooklyn Bridge at the 2014 Walk. Spurred on by Kathy Bates' audio testimony at that event and by the Face of Lymphedema Challenge, Emma recorded her own Challenge video. This year, Emma's Incredibles holds the #1 spot for fundraising for the New York Walk.
Emma's efforts did not go unnoticed in her home state of New York. Legislators in Albany sponsored and passed a resolution honoring her advocacy and, at the same time, provided LE&RN with two grants totaling $200,000 for the LE&RN Patient Registry and Tissue Bank as part of the State FY2015 budget. Senator Golden and Assemblymember Rosenthal sponsored the funding requests in their respective chambers. And this was not the first time these legislators have stepped forward on behalf of the lymphedema and lymphatic disease community. At last year's Walk, Senator Golden was presented with the 2014 Impact Award and Assemblymember Rosenthal was honored with the 2014 Advocate Award.
Emma rightly takes her place among these champions at the Statehouse in Albany, Senator Golden and Assemblymember Rosenthal. LE&RN is thrilled that all of these amazing advocates will be with our growing community as we prepare to march across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge for the second year.
If you haven't already signed up for this year's Walk, sign up today. Registration is easy. Join an existing team or form your own. And if you can't make it to the Bridge on September 19, support an existing team or sign up as a virtual walker.
