Nearly 600 Locals Gather at Cleveland Zoo for LUNG FORCE Walk and Raise More Than $80,000 To End Lung Disease

This morning, nearly 600 people participated in the American Lung Association in Ohio’s LUNG FORCE Walk at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The family-friendly event, presented by Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute, raised more than $80,000 to fund the Lung Association’s efforts to end lung cancer and lung disease.

This was the 9th year the LUNG FORCE Walk has taken place in Cleveland. Participants from across the greater Cleveland area and beyond walked a 5K route through the Cleveland Zoo, which was closed to the public.

“We were very excited to host this year’s LUNG FORCE Walk at the Cleveland Zoo, which provided an exciting backdrop to a day filled with moments of joy and hope for all of our participants – especially our LUNG FORCE Heroes,” said Kim Covey, executive director of the Lung Association in Ohio. “Thank you to our participants, volunteers and sponsors who came together today to make a difference in the lives of people facing lung disease and lung cancer.”

Here in Ohio, 1.6 million people live with lung disease, including lung cancer, COPD and asthma. It is estimated that nearly 10,700 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, and more than 5,700 will die from the disease.

However, there is hope. More people in the U.S. than ever are surviving lung cancer. The survival rate has increased by nearly 40 percent in the last decade. Funding research, encouraging lung cancer screening and reducing stigma around the disease is the key to unlocking a future free of lung cancer.

Money raised from the LUNG FORCE Walk supports the work of the American Lung Association to defeat lung cancer, improve the air we breathe, reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families and eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases.

Thank you to our local LUNG FORCE Walk sponsors, including Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute, Genentech, GSK, AstraZeneca, Regeneron, Novartis and Viatris. Thank you to our national corporate team partner, Kindred Hospitals.

For more information about the event and to donate, visit LUNGFORCE.org/Cleveland.