The Catskill Chronicle

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY (May 11, 2012) – On Saturday, May 19, 2012, players and teams from the Sullivan County Women’s League will be participating in a Two Pitch Women’s Softball Tournament to benefit the Alliance for Lupus Research’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus.

The all-day tournament will take place at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds starting at 9:00 a.m.

A raffle, concession area and informational table will be set up.

Also this year spectators can check out products at a vendor fair featuring Avon, Silpada, Thirty One, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, Party Lite, Tupperware, Celebrating Home, Mary Kay, Edible Art by Erin, and Crafts by Eileen. The vendor fair will be going on from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

There is no set admission, and attendees are encouraged to make whatever donation they can; 100% of the money donated will go to lupus research.

This is the third year for the tournament which is organized by Karen’s Crew, a team of Sullivan and Orange County residents who travel to New York City every October for the Alliance for Lupus Research’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus.

The goal of the walk team is to create awareness of this disease, and, more importantly, to raise money in hopes of finding new treatments and eventually a cure to those suffering with lupus.

Karen’s Crew has raised just over $25,000 in donations since forming in 2006.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect the joints and almost every major organ in the body, including the heart, kidneys, skin, lungs and brain. A person’s risk of developing lupus appears to be determined by genetic (hereditary) factors. However, the onset of the disease may be triggered by environmental factors such as infection, sunlight, or stress. In autoimmune disorders such as lupus, the immune system, which is designed to protect against infection, mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues and organs. The major hallmark of this autoimmune attack is inflammation. The course of lupus varies and is characterized by alternating periods of flares (increased disease activity) and remissions. Some people with lupus experience only mild lupus symptoms and have few complications. Others experience frequent flares that lead to moderate or even severe complications.

The number of people with lupus in the United States has been estimated to be as many as 1.5 million, making it more common than leukemia, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.

Anyone can develop lupus, including children, but certain people are more likely to develop the disease. Nine out of ten people who have lupus are women, and the disease usually strikes during the childbearing years. Lupus is three times more common in African-American women than in Caucasian women and is also more prevalent in women of Latino, Asian, and Native American descent.

For more information on the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus, the Tournament or to make a donation, call Nancy Esposito at 845-292-2683 or visit www.walk.lupusresearch.org. Go to "select a city" and choose NYC then "find a team" and select "Karen’s Crew" or email: nesposito@hvc.rr.com.