Hundreds Reach Out To Help Friends of Karen's Children

East Meadow, NY – Several corporate employees and community members built a team to participate in the 12th Annual Walk/Run for Friends of Karen at the Long Island Marathon, on May 5th and 6th at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. This year’s events include a 5K Walk/Run on Saturday, May 5 and 10K, half and full marathons on Sunday, May 6 at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, NY. Hundreds of Friends of Karen supporters are enthusiastic and proud to be part of a team that helps local families who turn to the NY tri-state organization for assistance when a child is diagnosed with cancer or another life-threatening illness.

The Walk/Run for Friends of Karen started in 2007 with 25 participants and was spearheaded by Evelyn Anderson, a former Friends of Karen mother, who wanted to celebrate her son Luke’s life by running a race in his honor. Luke was diagnosed with leukemia as a toddler and is now sixteen and has participated in the 5K for the past five years. In the years since its inception, the Walk/Run has grown to include close to 250 participants on the team, corporate sponsors and more than 1,500 supporters throughout the country. Funds raised from the Walk/Run will directly benefit families who are assisted by Friends of Karen’s Family Support program which helps provide services by a team of dedicated professionals – social workers, expressive arts therapists, and child life specialists – to ensure that families never have to make this difficult journey alone.

“This outpouring of support for the work we do is heartwarming,” said Nancy Mariano, Regional Director of Friends of Karen. “We are so grateful for all those who plan to support our efforts. We encourage others to join our team and share in the joy when we all cross that finish line together – for Luke and the hundreds of other Friends of Karen children and their families we help every day.”

To learn about Friends of Karen or to join the Walk/Run team, please call 631.473.1768 ext. 303 or visit www.friendsofkaren.org.

Friends of Karen began in 1978 when one neighbor, Sheila Petersen, came to the aid of a couple and their daughter, Karen, who was terminally ill. A fundraising campaign for medical and other costs enabled Karen to spend her precious last days at home surrounded by loving family and friends. 40 years later, Friends of Karen has expanded to a NY tri-state charity that serves children from birth though age 21 who are diagnosed with cancer or another life-threatening illness. To date, more than 15,000 children and their families have benefited from Friends of Karen’s services.