PASADENA—On Friday, UCLA defeated purple-clad Washington at the Rose Bowl.
Two days later, there was not a Huskies fan to be found on site, but a violet hue remained. Throughout the Rose Bowl concourse, purple tablecloths, shirts and bandanas replaced traditional powder-blue garb as the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles hosted the Walk to End Epilepsy.
This year’s 5K walk / run featured more than 3,000 participants, with all proceeds from each individual’s $25 registration fee going toward the foundation’s epilepsy care, education and research investment programs.
“I’ve seen (the 5K) grow from a small event to this today, and what this really represents here is a community,” said Mark Borman, Vice President of the Epilepsy Foundation whose nine year-old son, Ari, has epilepsy. “What’s important about this event specifically is that the funds that are raised at this event support that community.”
On Sunday, that growing epilepsy run / walk community featured UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley, whose older sister, Paris, is one of 3 million Americans currently affected by epilepsy.
Hundley said that his high-profile role as UCLA’s quarterback has allowed him to spread awareness about epilepsy.
“I just think it’s good to be able to touch others in whatever battles they’re going through,” he said. “I think I’ve been put on this platform for a reason, and I can use this platform to help others and share what they’re going through. It can go a long way.”
For Paris Hundley and all the members of “Team Hundley” that walked on Sunday, the event came as a welcome chance to recognize and bring attention to a disorder that many Americans know either very little or nothing about.
“I love how each year people don’t forget about it. They come out and celebrate an end for epilepsy,” Paris Hundley said. “You hear about Breast Cancer Awareness, but no one really knows about epilepsy much, so to have all these people come out and actually know some part of it, I think that’s awesome.”
Joining Team Hundley were dozens of teams of participants from UCLA, USC, and organizations and families throughout the Los Angeles area. Both Brett and Paris Hundley said support from Westwood and elsewhere for the End Epilepsy campaign has been overwhelming.
“It’s huge, man. It’s honestly such a blessing and it’s humbling to know that we can get everybody out here for this,” Brett Hundley said. “There’s a lot of people out here and just people from UCLA and people from all walks of this Earth out here supporting a cause.”
And it’s a cause that will require Hundley, who donated his shoes from UCLA’s 41-31 win over Washington for the event, to find new game footwear for this Saturday’s game against Arizona State.
“I mean, they still have the grass on them and everything,” said a beaming Hundley. “ASU’s going to be a big game and we’re going to have some fun.”