Dr. Sabgir walks with his family during the 1st Walk with a Doc event on April 9, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio.
Walk with a Doc began with a simple question.
As he began his cardiology career, Dr. David Sabgir frequently encouraged his patients to be more active. Visit after visit, he explained the benefits of walking and how it could not only reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, but also diabetes, cancer, depression, and more.
Yet at each follow-up appointment, he heard the same response: “I’ll start soon.”
Frustrated with the lack of action, Dr. Sabgir tried something different. Instead of another conversation about exercise, he asked a patient a simple question: Would you like to join me for a walk in the park on Saturday?
To his surprise, that patient said yes. He began inviting other patients, and word quickly spread. On a crisp spring morning in 2005, dozens of people gathered at a park in Columbus, Ohio, to take a walk.
“As we walked together that day, something powerful happened,” says Dr. Sabgir. “We were no longer in a sterile exam room. People were smiling. We were neighbors, a community. We were moving, not just physically, but socially and emotionally.”
That morning, Walk with a Doc was born. The group began to meet weekly on Saturday mornings to discuss a health topic and take a walk together.
“That first walk reminded me that healing does not only happen in exam rooms and through prescriptions, but when people come together, talk openly, and feel supported.“
Dr. David Sabgir, Founder
What began as a local gathering quickly spread as physicians and healthcare professionals across the country asked how they could bring the program to their own communities. Walk with a Doc became a nonprofit organization in 2009 and created a simple model that communities everywhere could follow.
Today, hundreds of Walk with a Doc chapters serve communities around the world, bringing people together to walk, learn about health, and connect with others.
Participants often arrive seeking better physical health, but many stay for the friendships, support, and sense of belonging that the walks create.
What began with one question continues today with the same invitation: come walk with us.
