The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will hold its Annual Walk to Cure Diabetes in Woodward Park, Mt. View Shelter on Saturday, May 18.

Registration for the Walk will begin at 8 a.m. at the park, and the Walk will start at 9:30 a.m.

JDRF, the world's largest charitable fundraiser of type 1 diabetes research, holds the Walk to Cure Diabetes in Fresno in support of raising money for diabetes research and growing the JDRF Central Valley Council. 

Coordinators of the event expect more than 700  people to participate in this year's walk.  Last year, the event raised more than $60,000 for diabetes research and this year’s fund-raising goal is $85,000, coordinators said.

The event will also include free family activities like face painting, games, music  and giveaways. There will also be a free continental breakfast and lunch provided by Chick-Fil-A for all walkers and volunteers.

If you shop at Vons in Clovis, you’ll notice the grocery store is holding a month-long charitable fundraising campaign during April in support of Easter Seals. At all the Vons stores throughout the Central Valley customers will have the option at every check-out counter of making a contribution to Easter Seals. Donations help Easter Seals provide services for children with autism, support children with special needs to attend preschool and daycare alongside of their typically developing peers, and provide children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to participate in Camp Harmon.

     For more information about Easter Seals services throughout the Central Valley please visit www.CentralCal.EasterSeals.com.

A study in the  Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, which included 120 healthy older people in China, showed doing tai chi can boost your brain power. Those who practiced this “moving meditation” technique three times a week for 40 weeks showed increases in brain volume, as seen on MRI, as well as improvements on several tests of memory and learning, compared to those not doing the exercise who had normal age-related brain shrinkage.

Previous research has shown that aerobic activity is good for the brain, but this study suggests that a more gentle form of exercise is also beneficial.  Another benefit of tai chi: it improves balance and decreases the risk of falls. (December 2012 UC Berkeley Wellness Letter)