SMOKEY POINT — Area walkers will be able to stay fit this weekend while supporting a local girl suffering from a serious medical condition.

Lakewood High School senior Ashlie Jensen is organizing the “Pump It Out For Platelets” 5K walk, starting at the Stillaguamish Athletic Club in Arlington at 10 a.m. on Sept. 24, for her little sister Karlie, who was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder called ITP when she was only 2 years old.

ITP causes the sufferers’ immune systems to attack the platelets in their own blood, and because those platelets help blood to clot, ITP sufferers like Karlie Jensen, who’s 12 years old now, face expensive and life-threatening challenges every day as a result of their condition.

Ashlie Jensen aims to raise funds for and awareness of the Platelet Disorder Support Association through the 5K walk, which will start at 4417 172nd St. NE in Arlington and proceed along the Arlington Airport Trail.

To contribute or learn more, log onto http://pdsa.donorpages.com/PumpItUpArlingtonWA.