The holidays can be brutal on the waistline, which is why United Way of Desert is hosting a 5K Walk in January. And, it’s not just one walk so get your walking shoes ready.

Starting Jan. 5, and every Saturday in January, United Way of the Desert will be holding a 5K walk in different cities across the Coachella Valley. Each walk is free, but participants are encouraged at each walk to bring an item that will be donated locally.

Here is the list of items United Way of the Desert is asking for at each location

  • Jan. 5: Indio High School — Bring non-perishable food items to stuff a Desert Sands Unified School District bus full of food. The food will be donated to FIND Food Bank.
  • Jan. 12 Desert Hot Springs Mission Springs Park — Bring school supplies for elementary school students. These supplies will go to elementary schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District.
  • Jan. 19: La Quinta Civic Center Park — New books for Pre-K and kindergarten-age children. These books will be given to children in the United Way of the Desert’s “Raising A Reader Program.” United Way of the Desert now serves 310 low-income children and their families in the Raising A Reader program.
  • January 26th: Palm Springs Health RunFitness Expo — No collection, though general donations will be accepted at the United way of the Desert Table.

To give organizers an idea of how many people will be at each walk, please register below. Remember each of the first three walks is free, but separate, paid registration is necessary for the PS Health Run.

Register here for the January walk.

Register here for the PS Health Run and remember to select United Way of the Desert as your team.

The goal of each of the walks during the month of January is to become #UnitedinHealth.