Walt Whitman Student Runs for Warriors

Photo: Logan Garcia, a student at Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington at the Run for the Warriors race.

Logan Garcia, a student at Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington, participated in the Run for the Warriors race in Lindenhurst on Sunday.

Garcia, a manager for the JV soccer team this year, was one of 3,000 runners in the race, which benefits Hope for Warriors, an organization that helps wounded service members and their families with both their immediate and future needs.

Before the start of the race, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, one of the runners, presented a check for $10,500 to the Hope for the Warriors organization.

The seventh annual Run for the Warriors featured one-mile, 5k and 10k races.

“We have no greater obligation than to see that our heroes are given every possible opportunity to succeed when they return home, and that is why I am such an avid supporter of Hope for the Warriors,” Bellone said.

Bellone recently completed the New York City marathon to support the Hope for the Warriors, and said the money raised from Sunday’s race would help those who have served the nation.

“This is a step toward helping veterans who have sacrificed greatly for us all, and their families.”

Suffolk County’s first marathon, scheduled for Sept. 13, 2015, will also raise funds for veterans’ causes. That race will begin and end at Heckscher State Park, and will serve as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

For more information about the Suffolk County marathon, email marathon@suffolkcountyny.gov

For information on Hope for Warriors, visit: http://www.hopeforwarriors.org