On Friday, April 7, 2017, Magee Riverfront Outpatient Center was bursting with friends and family for the 4th annual Walk It Out fundraising event. The event kicked off at the main inpatient hospital at 3 p.m. and was passed off to the Outpatient Center via video chat to total more than 25 hours of stepping by the end of the event at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 8!
During the step-a-thon, past and current patients had the opportunity to strut their stuff on a treadmill
to aid Magee in its 24-hour stepping goal. The Locomotor Training Clinic was set-up with five treadmills: the Therastride and Lokomat body-weight support treadmills and three traditional treadmills. While a patient was grooving on either the Therastride or the Lokomat, friends and family were able to walk alongside them on traditional treadmills for support. At the event’s peak, there were as many as five treadmills going, plus plenty of guests dancing!
Magee staff stayed overnight and took turns walking on treadmills to keep the Walk It Out spirit alive even in the wee hours of the morning. The event successfully came to an end with a spirited countdown on Saturday afternoon. Everyone was bursting with enthusiasm to hear the winners of all the raffle items, especially the trips to Florida and St. Maarten.
With everyone’s support, Magee doubled its $15,000 fundraising goal to raise more than $30,000 to support the Locomotor Training Clinic and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The money raised will give patients with limited insurance benefits the chance to continue therapy in order to work towards goals and improvement of functional skills. Ultimately, everyone that contributed to the event – whether by donating, attending, or buying raffles – has improved the quality of life for many people. Every year, this fundraiser is a tremendous success because of all the dedicated staff and patients in the Magee family, so thank you to all!
A special thanks to Insomnia cookies, Ellen Yin, the Munnelly’s, Jim O’Shaughnessy, Kathy Tomczak, and Sergio Cigala-Sanchez for kindly providing food to keep us energized throughout the event. Additionally, the following businesses donated items to make our raffle a huge success: Longwood Gardens, Yards Brewery, Wegmans, Philadelphia Union Franchise, Philadelphia Sports Massage, The Phillies Franchise, Temple University Athletics, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, Turkey Hill, Miller’s Ale House, Target, Dave and Busters, Revolution 
Bowling Alley, RowZone Manayunk, Couch Tomato Manayunk, CRYO Philadelphia, YMCA, Bottle Shop Fishtown, Stogie Joe’s Tavern, Lakshmi Studio, Le Virtu, Metro Men’s Clothing, Chick-fil-A, 4 Seasons Landscaping and Lawn Care, Mary Grimming, the Nordin’s, and Betsy Wriggins.
To learn more about Locomotor Training at Magee, click here.
Guest author: Tara Adams, Physical Therapy Aide, Magee Riverfront
