Lupus Research Alliance Invites Communities to Walk with Us to Cure Lupus Fall Season

Walks in New York City, Dallas, and San Diego – along with a Virtual event – will fund life-changing lupus research

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of dedicated lupus champions will kick off the Lupus Research Alliance Fall Walk with Us to Cure Lupus season on Saturday, October 18 to raise funds to accelerate lupus research and help find a cure. The season will include in-person walks in New York, Dallas, and San Diego – with a virtual walk for people around the globe.  

A chronic and complex autoimmune disease impacting millions worldwide, lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage.

The Walks provide a fun and fulfilling way for people with lupus, families, and friends to fundraise for lupus research as well as forge connections with others committed to the mission of the Lupus Research Alliance. Since inception, the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus has raised more than $46 million for lupus research.

"With the support of thousands of dedicated walkers, fundraisers, and sponsors across the country every year, this program has helped enable us to invest in the most promising lupus research that continues to deliver new treatments," said Albert T. Roy, President and CEO of the Lupus Research Alliance. "But because lupus affects each person differently, our research momentum must continue to address the critical need. Together, we can find a cure."

Join the Lupus Research Alliance – whether in person or online -- to raise vital funds and awareness for lupus research and connect with others in our dedicated lupus community:

New York 
Location: Intrepid Museum, New York, NY
Date: Saturday, October 18
Check-In: 8:00 AM ET
Walk: 9:30-11:00 AM ET
Advance Registration
Program: The event will feature entertainment, light refreshments, face painters, photo booths, a Kids Zone, and inspirational speakers.

The speaker lineup features 2025 Walk Ambassador and top fundraiser Stephanie Patti, a middle school English teacher and cross-country coach from nearby Long Island, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2016. Finding the support of the LRA community along with the hope of scientific discoveries from her involvement with the organization, Patti is passionately committed to fundraising for lupus research.

"I walk because research changes everything," Patti said. "Every step we take, every dollar we raise brings us closer to better treatments — and one day, a cure. I walk for myself, for my lupus family, and for every warrior who needs hope."

Dallas 
Date: Saturday, October 18
Location: Glencoe Park, Dallas, TX
Check-In and Festivities: 9:00 AM CT
Walk: 10:00 AM ET
Advance Registration
Program: The morning will be filled with great music, face painters, a balloon twister, and team photos. The program will also honor Walk volunteer and lupus warrior Shelley Shuttlesworth.

Virtual 
Date: Saturday, October 18
Location: Instagram
Livestream: 9:30 AM ET
Advance Registration
Program: The livestream from the New York City Walk on Instagram will feature NYC Walk Team Captain Timothy Johnson and lupus warrior Shelley Shuttlesworth.

San Diego
Date: Saturday, November 22
Location: Mission Bay, De Anza Cove
Check-In and Festivities: 9:00 AM PT
Walk Begins: 10:00 AM PT
Advance Registration
Program: The day will include massage therapists, a DJ, face painter, clowns, and team photos.

The Lupus Research Alliance thanks all the dedicated Walkers in New York, Dallas and San Diego as well as those joining online for their commitment to supporting LRA's mission and to advancing lupus breakthroughs.

Great appreciation also goes to event sponsors for their continued commitment to the lupus community including Hospital for Special Surgery, New York Jets, National Football League Foundation, Northwell Health, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cushman & Wakefield, MVP Worldwide Logistics, NYU Langone Health, EMD Serono, KPMG, RPW Group Inc., iHeart Media and WCBS/WLNY.

About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In lupus, the immune system, meant to defend against infections, produces autoantibodies that mistake the body's own cells as foreign, causing other immune cells to attack organs such as the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs and skin, as well as blood and joints. Ninety percent of people with lupus are women, most often diagnosed between the ages of 15-45. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander people are disproportionately affected by lupus.

About the Lupus Research Alliance
The Lupus Research Alliance is the largest non-governmental, non-profit funder of lupus research worldwide. The organization aims to transform treatment by funding the most innovative lupus research, fostering scientific talent, and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance's Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs.

For more information or to donate to lupus research, visit the LRA at LupusResearch.org and on social media at: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance