NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - They're illnesses you can't see and this weekend, people are gathering on the Peninsula to walk for those in the fight.
Saturday marks the first time since 2019 that the Social Butterfly Foundation's Butterfly Walk will be held in-person. The foundation is a nonprofit supporting people battling lupus and fibromyalgia.
Lupus is an auto-immune disease where the body attacks its own organs and tissues and it can be debilitating.
Social Butterfly founder Chastity Corbett has been living with it since 2005. She says Saturday's walk will help support all her foundation's programs.
“It was planted in me to start a nonprofit to bridge the gap and provide those services that we need, like support groups, emergency financial assistance," she told News 3 this week. "No one should ever have to choose between paying their rent and going to the doctors.”
The Grand Marshal of the parade is Virginia Delegate Marcia Price (D-Newport News), who tells News 3 she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia late last year.
She hopes people who don't have diseases like these can remember not to judge those who do.
“When you look at someone, you never really know what they’re going through, so kindness, being kind while we’re out and about and just inspiring to keep going," said Price.
The Butterfly Walk runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday at Todd Stadium. Click HERE to register.
