VERONA — Bella Rocco, a Parsippany High School Junior, and former patient has been attending the Walk since 2009 and each year her team, Bella’s Bunch has the distinction of fielding the most participants.
The Valerie Fund Walk and JAG Physical Therapy 5K Run was held on Saturday June 9, in Verona Park, Verona.
As of Saturday evening, June 9, Valerie Fund Walk and JAG Physical Therapy 5K Run raised $954,691; There were 187 teams; 638 runners; 2,093 walkers; and 2,731 participants. The goal for Bella’s Bunch was $5,000 and they exceeded the goal by raising $5,156.
The Valerie Fund relies on the dollars raised to help the children who live in our community. The Walk and 5K Run supports their mission to provide comprehensive health care for children with cancer and blood disorders. Every step you walk or run and every dollar you raise helps at The Valerie Fund Centers. Patients receive far more than treatment for their physical illnesses. Their philosophy is that to truly heal the children with whose care we are entrusted, we must treat them emotionally, socially, and developmentally, as well as medically.
2018 will mark the Ten year Anniversary of Bella’s Bunch.
TEN YEARS of family, friends and our community coming together to support this amazing cause.
Together Bella’s Bunch has raised over $50,000 and counting for these warrior kids that continue to fight the fight!
Parsippany resident Bella Rocco will walk for every kid in a green shirt and every parent that is part of the club that we never signed up for.
Three surgeries later Bella continues to be monitored on a regular basis never knowing what the next MRI will bring but confident that no matter what, together we will keep pushing forward to get through anything thrown her way.
She has always been and always will be in my eyes a Rock Star, a shining example of perseverance, strength, and fearlessness.
Nearly 40 years ago, Sue and Ed Goldsteinbegan The Valerie Fund to honor the memory of their nine-year old daughter. During the six years of her treatment, Valerie and her parents would often travel several hundred miles a week to a hospital in NYC and they wanted to spare other families with critically ill children the additional suffering of traveling to and from the city for treatment. Their dream was to help children receive high-quality care in a nurturing environment close to their homes.
Today, there are seven Valerie Fund Children’s Centers located in top pediatric hospitals in New York, New Jersey and metro Philadelphia and more than 4,000 patients are treated annually—one of the largest networks of healthcare facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders in the country.
