More than 2,000 walkers are expected at Pan Pacific Park for today’s eighth annual Walk to End Genocide, which seeks to inspire and educate a new generation of anti-genocide activists and raise funds for projects aiding refugees and survivors of the conflicts in Sudan and Congo.
A 10 a.m. ceremony commemorating the 1915 Armenian genocide and 1994 Rwandan genocide, including firsthand accounts from survivors, will precede the hour-long walk, which is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.
This morning’s walk will start and Pan Pacific Park and then head east along West Third Street. Once walkers arrive at La Brea Avenue, they will turn north toward Beverly Boulevard.
There, walkers will turn west toward Fairfax Avenue. At Fairfax Avenue, the walkers will head south toward The Grove before making one last turn at West Third Street and returning to Pan Pacific Park.
Advocacy training will follow after the walk; the event is expected to conclude at 1 p.m.
Also featured at the event is a “Global Village,” activist and craft projects, advocacy booths, art, food, merchandise sales, music, and a solar cooker demonstration.
craft and activist projects, advocacy booths, food, art, music, solar cooker demonstrations, great merchandise
The walk is organized by Jewish World Watch, an Encino-based group founded in 2004 that has raised more than $12 million in an effort to improve the lives of survivors of genocide, support on-the-ground projects and inspire local communities to advocate for political change.
According to the website for the Walk to End Genocide, the event aimed to raise $400,000. The goal was not yet met, though more than $300,000 was reportedly raised as of this morning.
Pan Pacific Park is located at 7600 Beverly Boulevard near Park La Brea and The Grove.
City News Service was used for portions of this story.