5th Annual 5K Run/Walk Remembers Orland Park's Schofield Sisters

ORLAND PARK, IL (August 28, 2019) – Jane Schofield Caliendo is remembered for her passion for life, her spirited personality and her love for family and friends.

An Orland Park native, Caliendo lost a valiant battle with colon cancer in 2014. She is remembered each year with the Jane’s Warriors Annual 5K Chip Timed Run/Walk that raises scholarship funds for local students and helps fund colon cancer research at the University of Chicago.

The fifth annual event will be held Sunday, September 8, 2019 beginning and ending at the 153rd Street Train Station in Orland Park.

This year brings a sad addition to the walk with the June 19 death of Jane’s older sister, Mary Schofield Berardelli, also from colon cancer.

“People who grew up in Orland Park remember the Schofield family from St. Michael, Sandburg and Providence Catholic,” said Tracy Sullivan, an annual volunteer for the event and longtime family friend. “Jane and Mary were wonderful women who were devoted to their families, the community and their students.”

Participants are encouraged to pre-register online at

https://runsignup.com/Race/IL/OrlandPark/JanesWarriors5KRunWalk

Day of registration will be available from 6:30 a.m. until 8 a.m. with an 8:30 a.m. start time.

Like their late mother, Margaret Schofield, both Caliendo and Berardelli chose careers in education with Caliendo teaching and coaching at Carl Sandburg High School and Berardelli teaching at St. Michael School in Orland Park.

Caliendo taught and coached at Sandburg for 22 years. She is a member of the District 230 Legacy Hall and the school’s pool has since been dedicated to her memory.

Proceeds annually fund scholarships for two students from St. Michael School and from Carl Sandburg High School, respectively. Nearly 800 people participate each year.

The St. Michael School scholarship is now named the Mary Schofield Berardelli Memorial Scholarship.

“It touches our hearts every year to see so many wonderful people come out to remember Jane and be a part of this great event,” said Jim Caliendo, Jane’s husband who retired from teaching at Sandburg in 2017. “We will always be grateful for everything that everyone has done to help the foundation help other people in Jane’s and Mary’s names.”

The Jane Caliendo Memorial Foundation also raises funds for the clinical research conducted by Dr. Blasé Polite, associate professor of medicine at the University Chicago Medicine, where Jane was treated for colon cancer.

“Jane was an exceptional patient and human being,” said Polite, a specialist in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. “She was a fighter but like so many was taken too early from all who loved her. I am honored that the foundation will be donating to our colon cancer research endeavors so that we can offer future patients even more hope and longer, healthier lives.”

The Jane Caliendo Memorial Foundation can be found on Facebook with further information and run/walk registration available at www.janeswarriors.com. Day of registration is also available.