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Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the race kicking off at 10 a.m., rain or shine.
“This is one of our most important annual fund raisers,” said Thomas J. Conklin, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley. “The extraordinary generosity of individuals and businesses in this event is critically important to meeting our mission.”
“Currently, we are working on 161 pending wishes and the average cost of each ranges between $7,500 and $10,000. That's why we again welcome local businesses, community leaders, organizations, schools and individual supporters to spend and walk with wish families and raise the funds necessary to ensure a wish for every child, one step at a time.” As in prior Walk & 5K Run for Wishes events, several Wish Kids will be among this year's participants. They and their families, friends and other supporters will stride side-by-side for the cause. Tommy of Yorktown Heights, 7, is one of them. In the spring 2013, he was diagnosed with life-threatening aplastic anemia, a disease in which the bone marrow and blood stem cells that reside there are damaged and cause a deficiency in all three blood cell types. Needing a bone marrow transplant, Tommy was fortunate that his sister provided a perfect match.
“But the recovery process after the transplant was a very tough and long road for Tommy to get through,” recalls his mother Kathy. “The first 100 days after the transplant were very risky, with the threat of infection looming as the new stem cells took over. He also needed to be in isolation and required many medications.”
Another returning Wish Kid is Stefano of Mahopac, who turns 9 in December. As a result of his brain not developing properly in utero, Stefano had suffered from epileptic episodes and had difficulty expressing himself.
Participants interested can register in person on the day of the event from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. or online at http://www.hudson.wish.org.
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