The Selma Times-Journal

The Daniel Rainwater Memorial Walkathon, an event to benefit the Alabama Head Injury Foundation (AHIF), is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. at Bloch Park in Selma.

Participants may register at the walkathon on Saturday, said Kitty Singley of the Pilot Club of Selma, an event sponsor along with Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority. Donations are accepted and will be used locally to aid those with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, Singley said.

Founded in 1991, the walkathon was named for Selma resident Daniel Rainwater a few years ago. Daniel died in 2003 at age 25 from severe head injuries he sustained as a child in an automobile accident, Singley said.

“After he came out of a coma, (Daniel) was never able to talk or handle himself physically from that time on,” Singley said. “His mother took care of him and some volunteers in Selma here built rooms onto their house trailers to handle his equipment.”

Daniel’s mother, Carol Rainwater, founded the walkathon to shed light on the prevalence of head injuries in the U.S., Singley said. According to the AHIF, one more person sustains a traumatic brain injury in the U.S. every 21 seconds and 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. AHIF statistics also revealed over 1,500 Alabamians are disabled due to traumatic brain injury each year and 50 percent of brain injuries are the result of motor vehicle crashes.

“This event is important to the Selma community for a number of reasons,” said AHIF Executive Director Charles Priest. “First and foremost, it helps to increase awareness of the issue of brain injury, reminding the public to be safe, buckle up, wear helmets and generally practice accident prevention.

“Secondly, the publicity this event generates invariably results in survivors and family members finding out about our organization and benefiting from our services.”

AHIF – founded in 1983

-provides information and referral services, local resource coordination, respite care and related community supports, Priest said.

For more information call 1-800-433-8002 or visit www.ahif.org.