About 200 people took part in last Saturday’s Walk for Hope at Warner Lake Park near Clearwater.

 

Walk for Hope is a nationwide effort to raise funds to benefit local breast cancer fighters, cancer survivors and to aid ongoing research.

 

It was the ninth annual walk sponsored by Clearwater Travel Plaza. Many walk for the cause, regardless whether or not it has a personal meaning to them. Others have had a first-hand experience with cancer.

 

“We started walking as a family the first year, which was five months after I’d gone through surgery,” said Mary Keske. “The second year we included the company and it’s grown and grown every year.”

 

The company is Real Time Solutions (RTS) in Becker, and Saturday they had about 40 people walking. It was the sixth year they’ve taken part in the walk.

 

Keske said the entire group held a soup fundraiser at work the day before to donate to the cause. They raised about $1,500.

 

All the money raised at the event went to the St. Cloud CentraCare Health Foundation.

 

“I was diagnosed at CentraCare, so the foundation is near and dear to my heart,” she said. “They caught it super early.”

 

Part of Saturday’s activities included a silent auction with donated gifts.

 

Teams and individuals also received awards in different categories.

 

Mona’s Memories team won top honors for the most people on a team.

 

Team Paula had the largest donation amount.           

 

 Jack the dog won the “Paws for Hope” award.

 

The largest individual sponsorships ($500 or more) came from Roxanne Gutknecht and Logan Sand.

 

Staci Stredelman from the Travel Plaza said the event raised $8,150, which was down a little from last year, probably because of rain early in the morning.

 

But it cleared up enough for walkers to stay dry and raise money to fight cancer and assist in cancer research.