The National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) is proud to announce its 2nd Annual Walk For Alopecia™ has exceeded its $900,000 fundraising goal. Thanks to the generosity of donors and sponsors and the fundraising efforts of the alopecia areata community, 2024’s Walk has raised a current total of $944,994. A surprise additional gift from National Gold Sponsor RBC Capital Markets put the fundraising total over the top. NAAF is now hoping to reach $1 million, and donations can be made at www.naaf.org/walk. Surpassing the original goal is an achievement for which NAAF’s strong community can be justifiably proud and demonstrates that there are great needs that still need to be addressed. “NAAF created the Walk for Alopecia to provide a way for the many millions of people impacted by this common autoimmune disease to do something about alopecia areata,” says Nicole Friedland, NAAF’s President and CEO, “so many did just that in September, showing the world that alopecia areata is not just hair. Because of the Walk, we are able to drive more alopecia areata research and provide more services to our community.” Surpassing the $620,000 raised by the first Walk in 2023, this achievement gives NAAF the means to further support the alopecia areata community and raise awareness to reduce stigma and improve lives, so those with this autoimmune disease may be empowered with more choices. That this same community played such a key role in the Walk For Alopecia exceeding its goal proves its empowerment is real and growing. The Walk For Alopecia was the finale of Alopecia Areata Awareness Month in September and the largest alopecia areata awareness and fundraising campaign in the nation. People living with alopecia areata, their families, caregivers, friends, co-workers, and healthcare professionals rallied together in communities across the country on September 28th to help drive research for treatments and a cure, increase support, advocate for change, and end stigma. The alopecia areata community was out in full force led by celebrity Walk Chair, Grammy-winning musician-songwriter Molly Tuttle and CBS News anchor Aziza Shuler as Walk For Alopecia events were held in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, and South Florida/Ft. Lauderdale. Participants could also “Walk Where You Are” in their own community as a team or individual. Visit naaf.org/walk for more information or email walk@naaf.org. National sponsorship support for the Walk For Alopecia was generously provided by Pfizer, Sun Pharma, Eli Lilly & Co., RBC Capital Markets, AbbVie and Sanofi. RBC Capital Markets increased its sponsorship level after seeing the impact alopecia areata has on its employees and how deeply their team engaged in supporting the Walk for Alopecia efforts.
