'I know what they’re going through': For local contractor, Kidney Walk is personal

For the second consecutive year, local contractor Mike Moore will be participating in The Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual Kidney Walk as part of a team known as Nephro On The Go.

Locally, participants start off from the Roberta Bondar Pavilion at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. Registration takes place at 9 a.m.

The Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual Kidney Walk raises funds for kidney disease research and to provide programs and services to those living with the disease.

“Last year Nephro On The Go did very well in fundraising. This year we want to do the same,” Moore told SooToday.

As of Tuesday, Sept. 10 the team was at the top of the list of local fundraising teams in advance of the Walk, having collected $14,160. With several teams and individuals raising funds, Sault Ste. Marie had collected $31,071, surpassing the local goal of $30,000 for 2024.

But there's still time to donate more.

Individually, Moore raises funds under the name No Moore Dialysis, having raised $9,210 of a $12,000 goal.

For Moore, it’s personal.

He undergoes four-hour dialysis treatments at Sault Area Hospital three days a week while still keeping busy as owner/operator of Mike Moore Construction.

“It makes it very difficult to do any personal things, like taking vacations,” Moore said before a dialysis treatment at SAH Tuesday. 

“I would like people to get involved and make donations. I like to help people," said Moore, who recently gifted SAH with a $44,000 baby incubator for SAH's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

"I want to help by doing the Walk and raise money but I’m also one of the kidney disease people so I know what they’re going through. We’ve lost a couple of renal patients this year and they were good friends of mine. It hurts when you lose one.”

Nephro On The Go includes Moore and a group of SAH's Algoma Regional Renal Program nurses.

“I’ve got about 20 or more on the team. They’re all excellent, every one of them, and they treat me like a king. It’s like my second family,” Moore said.

“One in 10 Canadians have or will have kidney disease. There’s no cure for it so we’ve got to raise money to find a cure.”

More information on The Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual Kidney Walk can be found on the event’s website.

Saultites wishing to donate to the Kidney Walk as individuals, or to donate to teams such as Nephro On The Go, No Moore Dialysis or others can do so by clicking here.