Walk It Out For Andrew

Walk It Out For Andrew was established in 2010 by the friends and family of Andrew Smialek. Andrew, a resident of Chicago’s West Lawn neighborhood, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2004, after graduating from St. Mary Star of the Sea and one month away from his 14th birthday. Over the next five-plus years, Andrew bravely underwent countless treatments, chemotherapy, stem cell and bone marrow transplants. He never let the physical, mental and emotional toll of cancer treatments bring him down because he just wanted to be a normal kid. He was a state champion for the St. Rita Mustangs football team in 2006, was involved in extracurriculars helping other students on campus even after he graduated, and did everything a normal teenager wants to do with their friends. 

Unfortunately, the cancer continued to come back. Andrew passed away on November 20th, 2009.

Andrew will always be remembered for his strength, courage and, above all, love for life. He brought daily joy to everyone around him, and his selflessness and determination to fight against cancer will forever live on as the foundation for Walk It Out For Andrew.

In 2010, we hosted our first ever Family 5K at West Lawn Park with a goal to raise $2,500 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. At the end of the event, we had raised over $8,000 and knew right then we had an opportunity to continue doing something special in Andrew’s honor. The following year, the Family 5K was solidified as an annual tradition and what’s now our signature event a decade-plus later.

In 2012, we began supporting Advocate Children’s Hospital and have forged a longstanding partnership with the Advocate Charitable Foundation and Pediatric Hematology and Oncology teams over the years. This was a special opportunity for WIOFA, as Advocate’s Oak Lawn campus is where Andrew was treated.

In 2015, WIOFA was honored to sign a 5-year, $100,000 commitment to operate as the sole benefactor of the Teen Hematology and Oncology Support Group, which we continue to do to this day.