Human Interest Human interest Local kids on the run for Children’s Hospital
Local kids on the run for Children’s Hospital
| Human interest |
By LeRae Haynes
A determined bunch of kids and parents in Williams Lake has been pounding the pavement and the back roads since last fall. After participating in the 2012 Williams Lake Stampede Parade they will take to the highway and run to the Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
The run is a fundraiser for the Vancouver Children’s Hospital—many of the 70 young participants have either received treatment there, or have family members and friends who benefitted from care at the facility.
(Six-year-old Marcus Kennedy is training for the run with 'Kids Running For Kids.')
The original goal was $25,000, and now that the group has reached approximately $34,000 at their halfway point, they’ve decided to raise their goal to $50,000.
“This started out as a group of women who decided to train for a half marathon,” said organizer Rya Enns. “Once we did that it became an addiction, and when our own kids wanted to train with us over the summer to prepare for the KidSport run, it really took off.”
She explained that last October the group decided to run for something of its own. “The kids suggested running to Vancouver, and the moms liked it, too,” she stated. “Within a week we had 20 people on board and by the end of October we had 30 kids.”
(Parker Kennedy received treatment from Children's Hospital and is training for the run.)
Sue and Craig Kennedy have four kids in the group, which is made up of runners 6-18 years old, with the majority in elementary school.
Two the Kennedy kids, Marcus and Parker, have received treatment at Children’s Hospital. Marcus received outpatient surgery for tubes in his ears when he was two years old and Parker was diagnosed just over a year ago with diabetes. “The hospital there is fabulous,” Sue said. “Everybody was so kind and professional.”
Parker, who is in Grade 8 at Columneetza Secondary School, said that he ran for a few years before joining ‘Kids Running for Kids.’
“We’re going to start training together after school pretty soon, he said. “It’ll take us about a week to do the run to Vancouver and we’ll go camping along the way.”
He also noted that some of his friends have joined the group. “We didn’t have to recruit: it was friends who knew friends,” Rya explained, “many from the Mountview area.”
She said that upcoming fundraisers will include a silent auction and dinner on April 14 at Boston Pizza and a couple of Mother’s Day raffles with great prizes, including an outdoor garden bench, a lawn mower and a western print. “We’re thinking of trying to do a car wash with the firemen,” she said.
‘Kids Running for Kids’ has set up an independent community event on the Children’s Hospital website for fundraising and that people can donate at www.bcchf.ca/kidsrunningforkids
For more information about the group phone Rya Enns at 250-392-3283 or email http://mce_host/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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