Zach Collett "Walks to Haiti" to Raise Funds for Amputee Victims

NORFOLK, VA (04/15/2010)(readMedia)-- -

WHO: Zach Collett, a college student at Southern Virginia University and David A. Lawrence, M.S.P.T., A.T.C., who co-founded the Physicians for Peace Walking Free program in 2000 to help amputees abroad.

WHAT: To raise funds for the Physicians for Peace Walking Free Program in Haiti, Zach Collett is conducting a personal walk-a-thon of considerable scope: Washington, DC to Miami, Florida. Zach's "Lengthen Your Stride" program goal is to bring aid to the amputee victims in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake. As he passes through Richmond, Collett will visit with David Lawrence and his physical therapy patients at The Gait Center.

WHERE: The Gait Center, 2034 Dabney Road, Suite D / Richmond / phone 804.523.2653

WHEN: Friday, April 16 - 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

WHY: Since 2005, internationally recognized Physicians for Peace (PFP) has been providing amputee rehabilitation services in Haiti. The number of injured and disabled in Haiti has risen dramatically because of the earthquake. At the same time, much of the resources that had been established to treat the disabled in Haiti have been destroyed.

Physicians for Peace is a charter member of the new Haitian Amputee Coalition which was launched post-earthquake. The Coalition is a long-term prosthetic and rehabilitation center on-site at HAS, an undamaged local hospital with a high clinical reputation located 60 miles from Port-au-Prince in Deschapelles, Haiti.

The Coalition is staffed by volunteer U.S. prosthetic experts and physical therapists from Physicians for Peace and its partners in conjunction with local Haitian medical professionals. Physicians for Peace is also providing donated medical supplies, training, expertise and protocols from its Walking Free program. For more: www.physiciansforpeace.org.

By obtaining pledges for every mile travelled, Zach will walk, run, bike, paddle, and propel himself from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. to Bicentennial Park in Miami Florida to raise funds for the Physicians for Peace Walking Free Program in Haiti. For More about Collett: www.LengthenYourStride.org or Twitter @1000Miles4Haiti

CONTACT: Katherine C. Taylor / Communications and Marketing Officer

757.625.7569 x 331 or cell: 757-343-6069 / ktaylor@physiciansforpeace.org

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