Golfers gathered at the Vista Valencia Golf Course on Saturday, not only for some friendly competition, but also to support The Kidneys Quest Foundation during the Unity Charity Golf Tournament hosted in collaboration with the Martinez Youth Foundation.
The Kidneys Quest Foundation was founded in 2008 by CEO/Founder Carolyn Lemos aiming to educate the public about kidney disease and bring awareness to the symptoms after she observed the lack of knowledge or attention surrounding the illness in the health care system.
“There was a huge need,” she said. “Ever since then, I’ve been out in the community as outreach just giving information about and doing something about it,” she said adding that approximately 180,000 people have been served through the organization’s programming.
The San Fernando Valley-based nonprofit organization provides support to patients and their families with kidney disorders and those in need of kidney transplant support services. Some services include case management and counseling, information about insurance, health care, and transplant options, as well as educational and emotional support.
Throughout the morning event, approximately 500 golfers and guests joined the effort to support the cause. The Martinez Foundation was also present to give scholarships to college students ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Among the volunteers was Joyce Hill, who became of service with the organization a decade ago after she met Lemos at church.
Hill, who has kidney disease herself, was seeking information and assistance to help her navigate the lifestyle change she was set to embark following her diagnosis.
Hill’s biggest change was sacrificing travel, which was something she did all the time.
“I love travel. I used to travel a lot, but you have to go to a dialysis to another city and it could be a lot. If you want to go to another country it’s a big deal so I wouldn’t want to even try,” she said. Hill refuses to let her diagnosis get the best of her.
“I see people that it gets to them, and it’s just a part-time job. You may not want to, you have complications from time to time, and you don’t want to have to deal with it, but it’s going to happen,” Hill said,referring to her three-day-a-week dialysis treatment. She also had a kidney transplant in 2021 but it failed in 2024, and is now back on the transplant list, she said.
“I encourage people to just pay attention to their body. When your body is talking to you, your body shows something that’s happening. Find out about it,” she said. Some early signs to her diagnosis was being constantly thirsty, and having cataracts in her eyes, she said.
Aside from being a volunteer with the organization, Hill has found a community where others may be undergoing similar experiences.
“These patients didn’t know they were going to get hit with this condition. They didn’t have a clue, so that’s why we are here. We answer the phone right away. We call back, we stay on it because they may have nobody rooting for them,” Lemos said. “Nobody gets left behind. No one falls through the cracks.”
