Stair-climbing event at LA Coliseum raises funds for American Lung Association

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The American Lung Association's Fight For Air Climb returned to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, with hundreds of people raising thousands of dollars for a good cause.

The annual stair-climbing event helps fund research into lung disease and education on keeping healthy.

This weekend's event set out to raise $250,000, with preliminary tallies showing the fundraising numbers approaching that goal.

"Lung cancer is no longer a death sentence because of those therapies," said event participant Rona White, a lung-cancer survivor. "There is so much more. I believe there is a healing, there is a cure in the making. Someone - they have it here right now and all they need is that funding to bring it to fruition."

Hundreds of people tackled 1,400 steps in the standard climbing course - or 2,500 for the more ambitious in the elite group.

ABC7 fielded a team that included anchors David Ono and Jory Rand and reporter Josh Haskell. The station team raised more than $13,000.

To contribute to the event through ABC7's team, please click link here.

Ono served as MC for the event.

"We do this every year and there are so many reasons why we do it, from cancer research to lung research to research about pollution," Ono said. "Anything that regards breathing."

The event will help fund much needed research in the area of lung cancer and diseases such as asthma and COPD along with treatments.

"We're here to fight lung disease, to end lung disease and to save lives," said Allison Hickey with the American Lung Association.

Each team is helping to bring that mission closer to reality.

"We are very close to goal, very excited that we're going to raise close to a quarter of a million dollars today," Hickey said.