By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder causing the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain and affects one in every 10,000 Americans.

To raise awareness and funding for research related to Huntington’s disease, James Ansell and Tyler Orem are hosting a Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s Team Hope Walk at Oak Mountain State Park April 3.

“They are really looking at raising money for research for the Huntington’s disease and advocacy on that front as well,” Ansell said. “It’s really just a walk to raise money and raise awareness for Huntington’s disease.”

This is the first year a Team Hope Walk is being held in Birmingham, according to Ansell, but the national Team Hope organization hosts several events all over the country, such as golf tournaments and gala events.

Ansell and Orem currently attend UAB in Birmingham, and Ansell said they had always discussed hosting an event like this.

“We always wanted to host a 5k, and Tyler got involved with Huntington’s disease research during high school,” Ansell said. “He kind of found Team Hope, and we thought it would be to kind of jump into that as a thing we always wanted to do.”

The duo chose Oak Mountain State Park so they could utilize the surrounding scenery to create a scenic walk for attendees. Ansell said the walk will loop around the lake.

In addition to the walk itself, Orem said they hope to have a DJ play music and offer fun activities, such as face painting.

Ansell and Orem have a goal of $5,000, and are 64 percent of the way there as of March 3. Ansell commented that they are well on their way to hitting the goal. They would also like to have about 100-150 people participate.

“It’s a really exciting process for us,” he said. “We are really excited to go through the whole logistics of getting it all set up.”

To gage interest in the Team Hope Walk, Ansell and Orem attended a Huntington disease support group. Ansell said everyone seemed excited about the walk and about supporting Tea Hope.

Orem added that all their friends are planning on attending and have been supportive of the event.

If the event this year is as successful as the duo hopes, Ansell said they’ve talked about making it an annual event in Birmingham.

“It’s been a really inspiring and a really exciting journey as we’ve gone through the logistics of everything,” he said. “We are really excited.”

Check-in for the walk starts at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 3, and the race begins at 2 p.m. For more information, visit Hdsa.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=829.