Join the Joint Fundraiser for Walkabout and No Child Wet Behind

No Child Wet Behind and The Walkabout Foundation will join forces Sept. 12 at FDR Park in Yorktown Heights for their respective annual 5ks and fundraisers.

The two nonprofits have each hosted their own walks and events for the past three years; this year they decided to capitalize on their similar base of supporters by hosting a larger event and increasing their outreach.

The family-friendly day will start with a 5k run/walk around FDR Park, followed by activities for all ages, including: a bouncy house, vendor boutique, food and beverage trucks, raffle prizes, children’s area and more. All participating organizations will be represented that day, with various ways to give and get involved.

One host of the Sept. 12th walk is The Walkabout Education Foundation and the Walkabout Alumni Association.

The Walkabout Education Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization which was created to develop challenge-oriented, experiential education programs. This time-tested approach is based off the 37-year-old Walkabout Program which provided students across Putnam and Northern Westchester with a sense of self-confidence, community, life skills and core values at a critical and transformative time of life. WEF was founded to ensure that Walkabout education remains available to students after Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES discontinued the program.

The other, No Child Wet Behind (NCWB), aims to get diapers to those in need via monetary donations as well as diaper donations. NCWB is in its first year as a nonprofit; it was started by Northeast Doulas, LLC, a for-profit company based out of Peekskill, NY that provides professional doula services to families in Greenwich, Westchester, and New York City.

“I remember us hopping in our car, filled to the brim with diapers, and driving around Peekskill handing out diapers to desperate parents,” says Randy Patterson, co-owner of Northeast Doulas. “The need was so great: we had people knocking on our door looking for more diapers. We knew we had to do something.”

NCWB expects its impact to be even greater this year having chosen to directly support the efforts of the recently established Westchester County Diaper Bank (WCDB), a partnership between The Junior League of Central Westchester (JLCW*) and County Executive Robert P. Astorino and the Westchester County Department of Social Services. The WCDB provides diapers at no cost as assistance to families in need in Westchester County. The JLCW supports the bank by soliciting donations, organizing drives, managing and packaging inventory, and processing applications , while the Westchester County Department of Social Services helps distribute the diapers. Since its inception, the WCDB has distributed thousands of diapers to hundreds of babies and toddlers.

Proceeds from the morning portion of the event (mainly the run) will benefit No Child Wet Behind; proceeds from the raffle in the afternoon will benefit the Walkabout Education Foundation. Donations of diapers (even partially opened packs) will be accepted all day.

Registration is still open for the 5k. You can sign up at tinyurl.com/nochildwetbehind. To learn more about sponsorship and other donations, please email northeastdoulasevents@gmail.com .

* The JLCW is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.