A Superhero 5K and 2-mile walk is happening on Saturday, May 4 at 8 a.m. at Perry Farm in
Bourbonnais. Cost is $30 for adults and $15 for kids under 12 years old. Costumes are
encouraged. Registration and race information can be found at www.runforjoy.org.
Register by April 13 to guarantee a race t-shirt.
Honored kids will be recognized with signs on the course. Submit a name and photo of a child that is on a medical journey at runforjoy.org. In memoriam recognition is also welcomed to honor children lost too soon to illness.
Proceeds from the event benefit Mattea’s Joy, a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring care, connection and community to families with hospitalized children.
“Families are craving connection while they navigate having a hospitalized child.” said Jamie Freedlund, cofounder of Mattea’s Joy. “Our hope is to help them feel less alone during what will likely be one of the most challenging circumstances of their lives”
Mattea’s Joy serves monthly meals for families at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. It coordinates care packages to local families who are transferred to Comer from outside hospitals, including Riverside Medical Center as well as Ascension Saint Mary in Kankakee. The group also provides snack boxes to several Chicagoland and Central Illinois hospitals, the Joy in the Journey podcast, and transformational experiences like visits from Mattea’s Princess visits to partner hospitals.
The event is professionally timed by J3 Timing and is being sponsored in part by Turn-Key
Environmental, Special Waste Disposal, Bourbonnais Township Park District, The University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Geoffrey Johns and Associates, Riverside Community
Credit Union, National Bank of St. Anne and Manteno, Still Waters Environmental, and Weber Grill.
Perry Farm grounds are handicapped accessible, and restrooms are available on site.
For more information about Mattea’s Joy or this event visit www.runforjoy.org.
