As part of the world’s largest fitness franchise, Curves of North Bend announced that it is joining celebrity Olivia Newton-John in the fight against cancer.

Curves is a worldwide sponsor of the “Great Walk to Beijing 2008,” a fund-raiser that will benefit Newton-John’s Cancer Center Appeal, and has pledged a minimum $1 million donation to the event.

Curves of North Bend will participate in the fund-raiser with an April in-club promotion that will have members walking along as Newton-John, Curves founder Diane Heavin, and other celebrities, athletes, business leaders, corporate partners and cancer survivors trek 228 kilometers over some of the oldest and steepest portions of the Great Wall of China. The Great Walk to Beijing 2008 began April 7 and ends with a triumphal entry into Beijing on April 29.

“We’re thrilled to join Olivia in the fight against all types of cancer,” said Curves of North Bend owner Sherry Saucedo. “We help women get strong and healthy and fight deadly diseases on a daily basis — from diabetes and heart disease to hypertension and more. This is a chance for us to fight cancer worldwide, and to have fun and get fit doing it.”

Curves of North Bend will promote the event throughout April with posters, contests and special events. Curves members can “get on the Wall” with an initial donation and “kilometers” that will propel them toward “Beijing” through additional donations, workouts and other fun activities. Curves members who complete all 228 kilometers will be entered in a drawing to win a share in thousands of dollars in prizes from Curves International and Curves Travel.

Curves members who’ve battled cancer will be honored and remembered on the walk.

“I’ve seen what cancer can do to individuals and their families,” said Curves founder Heavin. “So I’m walking in honor of every Curves member who has had to deal with the devastating effects of cancer, and in memory of every Curves member who has lost her life to it. To make that a reality, I’ll be reading the names of those Curves member daily during the walk.”

Members can submit their names or the names of other Curves members on the Curves members-only Web site, MyCurves.com.

Anyone can take part in the walk by logging onto www.greatwalktobeijing.com and sponsoring Newton-John, Heavin, or any of the other walkers on the journey.

For more information about Curves of North Bend, contact Bonnie Jo at (425) 888-5290.