I wanted to take this opportunity to express my excitement in bringing back our awareness and fundraising Walks, now called 'A Million Steps for Scleroderma' Sunday, October 6th at NTC Park at Liberty Station. This will be our first time hosting this event since 2019 after the world shut down during the pandemic that limited our efforts until now. My family and I have participated in these annual walks supporting scleroderma for over 24 years and I never missed an opportunity to volunteer at the walks before coming to work for the Foundation in 2016. Once I became an employee, I was able to see behind the scenes, learning first-hand the efforts needed to create a fun, engaging and successful walk. My kids were 3 and 10 when they attended their first walk, and they are now 27 and 34 and still show up along with my parents and many of my friends who have supported my efforts year after year volunteering and participating and I am forever grateful to all of them. Some of the memories that come to mind from participating in these walks for scleroderma bring a smile to my face and leave me humbled and inspired when I witness people coming together who have never met anyone else living with scleroderma and it changed their life. I remember one year, at the LaMirada Walk, there was a young adult, 19 years old, newly diagnosed that attended her first walk that year, after one of our parents that also had a 19-year-old living with scleroderma since she was 3 years old, picked her up and took her with them. When she got out of the car and saw all the families she was in awe and kept saying over and over, "Look at all of my people!" I will never forget that moment... I can also remember watching three gentlemen unite at the 2019 walk in San Diego and for one of them, it was the first time he was going to meet other men living with scleroderma. The smiles on their faces were priceless and I had the honor of witnessing that moment. While I speak about the inspiring moments captured at a walk, I want to add that our walks bring community together. They are a place where we can invite our friends and family that gives everyone an opportunity to get the bigger picture related to scleroderma. A place where you see all ages, backgrounds, men, woman and even children living with scleroderma. Some with huge support systems and others with little to none but have found that support attending their local support group, meeting others and gaining resources and long-lasting friendships. We come together to help raise awareness and funds for scleroderma, while helping the Scleroderma Foundation of California meet the mission to EMPOWER the scleroderma community to live BETTER lives through programs dedicated to SUPPORT, EDUCATION, and RESEARCH.