Michael McBride will honor the memory of his daughter Katie with the fourth consecutive Katie’s Run 5K run and two-mile walk fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House on June 23.
The event, sponsored by the Katie McBride Foundation, raised $15,000 last year and has raised $41,000 for the Ronald McDonald House over the past three years.
McBride conceived the event after his daughter, Katie, succumbed to a rare cancer known as Burkitt’s LKymphoma in 2008 at age 11.
“The idea was developed to keep Katie’s memory alive and I think we do that through this event through the kindness of others,” said McBride, director of the New Hyde Park Funeral Home.
This year, the foundation has created three Katie McBride Memorial Scholarships that will provide $1,000 to high school students to help with college costs.
One scholarship is to be presented to Chaminade senior Domenick Fazzolari, who will be attending Fordham University in the fall.
McBride said the foundation’s intention is to present the Chaminade scholarship to a student “reflective of service and kindness.”
A second scholarship will be presented to Grace Revello, a senior at East Islip High School – the same school that Katie McBride would have attended. Revello, who is headed for Cornell University in the fall, Revello wrote an essay on how cancer affected her life.
A third scholarship will be presented to Jordan Duprey, the sacristan at St. Peter the Apostle Church in East Islip where Katie had been an altar server. Duprey is attending Stanford University in the fall.
The 5K run and 2-mile run will take off at 9:30 a.m. in front of the New Hyde Park Funeral Home on Lakeville Road in New Hyde Park, with the finishing point in New Hyde Park Memorial Park this year. Last year’s event drew nearly 800 participants, according to McBride, who said his goal is to eventually draw 2,500 runners and walkers.
“We have a reputation as a good event with a competitive run and a carnival,” he said.
The carnival kicks in after the runners and walkers arrive in the park. Local piano man Pat Farrell will perform again at this year’s event. The event will also feature two large flat-screen displays that will flash images of Katie McBride. Four TVs will be among the raffle prizes at the carnival.
Food will be donated by the Sakowich family from the Inn at New Hyde Park with volunteers from the New Hyde Park Fire Department handling grilling duties and manning an aid station for the runners in the park.
The Ronald McDonald Fun Run will be part of the activities for children in the park. A face painter will also be on hand as well as recreational inflatables from Send in the Clowns.
“We want to make sure the kids will have a good time,” McBride said.
There is a $25 fee for runners and walkers to register for the event, which they can do online at www.katiesrun.com or in the parking lot of the New Hyde Funeral Home on the morning of the event.
Pre-registered participants can pick up their registration packets on June 21, the Friday night prior to the event, at New Hyde Park Fire Department headquarters. Attendees at the pre-registration will be treated to free pasta and beer, music spun by a DJ. They will also be offered the opportunity to take chances at a pre-event raffle.
