Taking strides to fight cancer

As part of her preparations for a nearly 40-mile walk to raise money

for cancer research, Denise Pouchet bought a new pair of shoes.

And to really be prepared, she bought them one size too big.

“When you’ve walked five, six or seven miles your feet begin to

swell,” explained Pouchet, who with husband David Burr make up Team

Angela. “And as you progress they really begin to swell, which is why

they have medical care at the stops.”

The Burbank couple will be among the hundreds of walkers taking

part in the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer on Sept. 17 and 18 in Long

Beach.

Their team is named in the memory of Burr’s mother, Angela, who

passed away from cancer in 1980 at 52.

To take part in the walk, Burr is giving up a Sunday afternoon

ritual of watching professional football.

“I will be sacrificing watching the New England Patriots in honor

of all these wonderful ladies,” said Burr, a native of Boston who is

a screenwriter.

A regular participant in the Revlon Run/Walk For Women that takes

place in May at Exposition Park, Pouchet is participating in the Avon

Walk for the first time.

The event involves walking up to 39.3 miles over the two days. At

three-mile intervals walkers can take a break with food and water and

have access to basic medical care. Walkers spend the night at the

Wellness Village where there will be entertainment, massages and

information on breast cancer.

Last year’s walk in Santa Monica had 1,400 participants who raised

more than $3.2 million for cancer research, according Avon’s website.

Pouchet and Burr must raise a minimum of $1,800 each to

participate but have set personal goals of $4,000 each. Burr has gone

to small businesses in the Burbank area to solicit donations to reach

the amount.

Brownstone Screen Printing Inc., in North Hollywood, donated

T-shirts that Pouchet and Burr will wear during the walk.

“We do a lot of charity work in the community with a lot of

foundations,” Brownstone Screen Printing President Diane Nathanson

said. “Charities are lot of what we do. We do walks ourselves to help

out charities that way, too.”

The family-owned company has also done work for Burbank Priority

in Education and Leadership Burbank program.

A $100 donation will get the donor’s name printed on the shirt,

Burr said.

Deborah Fairchild, a longtime friend of the couple was among those

who donated money.

“My own mother passed away from an unrelated disease and we have a

perpetual scholarship in her name so I know the feeling of having to

receive donations,” said Fairchild, a Los Angeles resident.

“So in turn we want to do that for our friends.”

To practice in the weeks leading up to the event, the couple has

established a three-mile route from their Magnolia Park home around

the neighborhood and past the businesses on Magnolia Boulevard.

“It’s such a great thing when you walk,” Pouchet said. “On Clark

Street right near Buena Vista there is one house that has rose bushes

in the front yard. It’s just tons and tons of roses.”

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events also take place in Chicago, New

York City, Denver, Boston and Washington, D.C.

For more information on the event or to make a donation visit

o7https://www.avonwalk.org.

f7

* MARK MADLER covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached

at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at mark.madlerlatimes.com.