• The event has raised nearly $15 million for the nonprofit since 2007, enabling Bridge of Life to enhance kidney care globally through its medical missions.

DENVER, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, DaVita announced that over 4,400 DaVita teammates, friends, family and key members of the kidney care community joined together to participate in the inaugural Move It with Purpose (MIWP) event to benefit Bridge of Life, a nonprofit founded by DaVita to support the prevention and treatment of chronic disease.

Money raised from this year's MIWP event will be used to fund Bridge of Life's mission to increase access to kidney transplants and dialysis in countries where this life-saving treatment is limited or non-existent.

"Bridge of Life is thrilled to be the recipient of so much generosity and goodwill thanks to DaVita, event sponsors and participants," said Lori Vaclavik, executive director for Bridge of Life. "Because of their efforts, we will be able to provide chronic disease prevention and treatment to people in underserved communities around the globe."

For example, in rural Guatemala, Bridge of Life will use funds raised during MIWP to build a peritoneal dialysis (PD) room for pediatric patients in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala and FUNDANIER, a new pediatric kidney care program launched earlier this year. The project will create treatment solutions to administer PD and allow children living with kidney disease the opportunity to be placed on the path to receive a kidney transplant.

MIWP has expanded its scope to include a variety of activities that encourage widespread participation from the DaVita community. The event encouraged DaVita teammates, patients, physicians, vendors, family and friends to "move it" by participating in a physical activity of their choice from October 1-November 15. Activities ranged from hiking and kayaking to gardening and yoga. In total, teammates raised over $650,000 for Bridge of Life in 2022.

For every mile logged on the MIWP site, DaVita donated $1 to Bridge of Life, up to $250,000. In addition, for the first time DaVita teammates could donate to the nonprofit through the provider's "Dollars for Doers" program. Donations made through the program, which ties monetary donations to volunteerism, were matched dollar for dollar by DaVita.

Bridge of Life has assisted more than 130,000 people in underserved communities since its first mission in 2006. Since then, its programs have focused on helping to prevent and treat chronic kidney disease and its leading causes, diabetes and hypertension, increase access to health care and improve the quality of care for kidney patients in 34 countries across the globe.

2022 Move It with Purpose sponsors included AmerisourceBergen, Henry Schein, Inc., NxStage from Fresenius Medical Care, WellDyne, Wells Fargo, Akebia Therapeutics, Baxter, WilmerHale, and World Wide Technology.

For more information about Move It with Purpose, visit TourDaVita.org or Facebook.com/TourDaVita.

For more information about Bridge of Life, visit BridgeofLifeInternational.org or Facebook.com/BridgeofLifeInternational. 

Bridge of Life (BOL), an independent 501(c)(3) public charity founded by DaVita Inc., is an international nonprofit organization working to strengthen health care globally through sustainable programs that prevent and treat chronic disease. Our vision is a world where all human beings have access to quality health care. We strive to empower local staff, community health workers and patients through training and education to make sustainable changes to health care. To learn more, visit bridgeoflifeinternational.org.

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is a health care provider focused on transforming care delivery to improve quality of life for patients globally. The company is one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the U.S. and has been a leader in clinical quality and innovation for more than 20 years. DaVita cares for patients at every stage and setting along their kidney health journey—from slowing the progression of kidney disease to helping to support transplantation, from acute hospital care to dialysis at home. As of September 30, 2022, DaVita served 200,000 patients at 2,776 outpatient dialysis centers in the United States. The company also operated 352 outpatient dialysis centers in 11 other countries worldwide. DaVita has worked collaboratively to help propel the kidney care industry to adopt an equitable and high-quality standard of care for all patients, everywhere. To learn more, visit DaVita.com/About.

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