Bright Lights, Big City

With balloons, fireworks and music, Baptist Health South Florida led a charitable takeover of Bayfront Park on Saturday, Nov. 10. That’s when downtown Miami provided a waterfront backdrop for the 2012 Light the Night Walk in Miami to raise money for research to cure blood cancers.

The event was hosted by the Southern Florida chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, with Baptist Health as the presenting sponsor. The Walk was led by Light the Night Miami Walk Chair Ralph Lawson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Baptist Health South Florida.

A crowd of 4,500 participated in the event, which raised $850,000, double the amount raised in 2011. A total of $1.4 million was raised in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Top Corporate squad honors went to Baptist Health, a lineup of nearly 2,000 Baptist Health employees, friends and family members. In yellow “pineapple” T-shirts, Team Baptist Health brightened and expanded the crowd.

Walk activities included food and activities for children and families, with music by DNR, a band led by Dr. Jack Ziffer, corporate vice president for Baptist Health Medical Group. Even the Miami Tower was dressed for night with gold, red and white  lights,  reflecting the balloon colors carried by the walkers, with gold balloons for those walking in memory of loved ones lost to cancer, red for supporters of the cause and white for cancer survivors.

Tags: community health