PARSIPPANY — On Saturday, December 1 the Children’ Brain Tumor Family Foundation (CBTFF) will be holding its inaugural “Head for the Holidays” USATF sanctioned 5K Run/Walk to raise funds for research focused on rare and inoperable pediatric brain tumors.
The event will be held at the Mack-Cali Business Complex on Campus Drive in Parsippany with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the CBTFF (Children’s Brain Tumor Family Foundation), a volunteer based 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding research underway at the Children’s Brain Tumor Project of the Weill Cornell Medical Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
The Head for the Holidays 5K run/walk is a fun way to get decked out and be festive, while racing to raise funds and awareness to support a very important cause. Runners and walkers of all levels and ages are invited to participate, and strollers are welcome.
Holiday attire is not required but is highly encouraged. Runners can stay after the race and shop. There will be a vendor and craft fair/holiday boutique available after the race until 3:00 p.m.
A virtual event has been established for those that don’t live in New Jersey or can’t attend the event on December 1. Those participants can sign up for the virtual 5K online and they will be shipped a race day t-shirt to wear when they run or walk at a location and time of their choosing.
Awards will be presented to runners age 14 & under as well as 5-year age groups starting at age 15 and ending at age 80+. The race is being held on the USATF certified course and will be timed by Best Racing Systems.
All participants that register by November 17 will receive a free T-shirt. After this date T-shirts are not guaranteed and will be limited to those sizes on hand race day. T-shirts will be available for pick-up the day of the race prior to start time.
The CBTFF was founded in 2015 by families united in tragedy and heartbroken from the experience of watching their children and loved ones battle a devastating diagnosis. Even though brain tumors have the highest death rate of all childhood cancers, they have one of the lowest levels of research funding.
The organization is designed to help grieving and frustrated communities convert their passion and anger into awareness, support, and donations for research that is critically underfunded and highly dependent upon financial contributions from the private sector.
There are three local families who serve on the board of the CBTFF. The Ries family rally around “TeamSean” locally and have a son named Sean who is currently a sixth grader at Parsippany’s Brooklawn Middle School and battling a DNET tumor.
The Clayton Family of Rockaway lead “TeamJoey” which honors the memory of their son Joey who died in 2016 at age eight of a high-grade astrocytoma brain tumor. And, the Donnelly family of Caldwell who lost their daughter Juliana at the age of six to a DIPG in August of 2013.
Click here for more details on the event. From the web-site you can register on-line, sign-up for the virtual event, become a sponsor or register as a vendor.
The Children’s Brain Tumor Family Foundation is a volunteer led 501C3 founded by six families impacted by pediatric brain tumors. The organization is dedicated to raising funds for the Children’s Brain Tumor Project.
The Children’s Brain Tumor Project is a research effort at Weill Cornell Pediatric Brain and Spine Center, co-directed by Dr. Mark Souweidane and Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield. The project is “powered by families” and donations made by the families, friends, and supporters of the children, teens and young adults who confront the heartbreaking diagnoses of rare and inoperable pediatric brain tumors such as DIPG, Gliomatosis cerebri, AT/RT, and thalamic gliomas.
