More than 600 people attended the Steps for Life 5k Run & Walk of South Florida, held January 15, 2017 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla. Gift of Life celebrated its largest race participation ever at its 7th annual event.
The event emcee was WPTV NewsChannel 5 Senior Reporter Michelle Quesada. As she welcomed everyone to the event, Michelle expressed how honored she was to be chosen as emcee due to her personal connection with the cause – in 2012 her sister, Elizabeth, lost her battle with leukemia. “My sister passed away from a rare form of leukemia four years ago, but it was her goal to be a part of events like this, to raise awareness about Gift of Life’s mission and the need for donors,” said Michelle. “I’m happy to be here today for her.”
Boca Raton native, singer and songwriter, Kendra Erika performed the national anthem during the opening ceremonies.
Gift of Life holds Steps for Life 5k events in Boston, New York and South Florida every year to raise funds needed to add new donors to the registry; it costs $60 to tissue type each new donor and add them to the international registry. Steps for Life also brings Gift of Life’s supporters together to raise awareness in their communities and take actions that will help save the lives of cancer patients. “Gift of Life is a large family, everyone here today wants to be involved, to do good, and they can see how easy it is to be part of something great – saving the life of someone with blood cancer,” said Gift of Life Chairman Bill Begal.
Recognition of Wendy SchulmanBefore the race, Gift of Life honored the woman who founded Steps for Life seven years ago, Wendy Schulman. Her original concept has grown to become a major, multi-city fundraising event, attracting thousands of people who help raise awareness about the need to increase the number of donors in the registry. Wendy is the co-captain of Team Mizner, with Dana Aberman and Donna Krasner. This year, the team raised over $35,000 in contributions, with the help of co-captains
Wendy was recognized at the podium, and invited to introduce a transplant recipient to his lifesaving marrow donor.
Oregon artist meets stem cell donor who saved his lifeWendy first welcomed peripheral blood stem cell donor Ethan Krafft to the stage, explaining that he had swabbed his cheek and joined the registry during a donor drive at Ohio University. Just over a year later he was called as match for a 61-year-old man who suffered from a bone marrow disorder. His recipient, Rich Little, is a retired teacher and school district administrator who now has a second career as a ceramic artist. Their meeting was an emotional occasion, as donors and recipient must wait a year after the transplant before learning each other’s identities.
“It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of being able to give a life to someone else,” said Ethan. “It was incredible to see Rich for the first time.” Rich also felt emotional at meeting his donor, and emphasized their strong connection, saying, “I feel like I’ve known Ethan all my life – if it wasn’t for this man I wouldn’t be alive.”
To read their full story, click here.
Superhero SprintTo kick off the race portion of the morning, a large contingent of amazing superheroes, all aged 6 years and under, lined up to run the Superhero Sprint. Every hero received a bright orange cape and each of them was awarded a medal for completing the 50-yard dash.
To the delight of the many children present at this family-oriented event, Owlsley, the FAU mascot, posed for photos with Gift of Life’s littlest supporters.
Run & WalkDonor Ethan and recipient Rich led off the Steps for Life 5k Run & Walk. With runners from all over South Florida participating, the field was packed with competitive energy. Walkers followed the runners out of the starting line, along the palm tree-lined course laid out on the FAU campus.
One of the first runners out of the gate was #388, 12-year-old Caleb Berman. He was also the first to cross the finish line, with the best overall time, an amazing 20:24.
Top finishers Caleb Berman (C) in first place, Georgios Loundaros (R) second, and Anderson Nunes (L) third.
“The teams and individuals raised over $95,000, far surpassing the event goal,” said Gift of Life Race Coordinator Jennifer De Gruccio. “We are so grateful for the huge turnout and the outpouring of support for Gift of Life’s mission to cure blood cancers. Our sponsors have also been incredibly generous in making this event possible.”
Funds raised at Steps for Life will be used to add new donors to the registry, where they may be found as a lifesaving match for a patient in need.
Top fundraisers this year were:
The generous support of our sponsors made the Steps for Life 5k of South Florida possible, including:
Gold Sponsors:
Silver Sponsors:
Bronze Sponsors:
Water Station Sponsor: Northwestern Mutual
Speaking on the large turnout and enthusiastic support shown by attendees, CEO Jay Feinberg said, “Our goal is that each person here understand that it only takes one person to save a life, that one person can make a huge difference in the life of a total stranger.”
Patients in need who do not have a match in their family can only be matched with a volunteer donor through the international bone marrow registry. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer donor, please visit www.giftoflife.org/register. While not every donor is called as a match, you may someday be the one to save another person’s life.
Photo gallery
A photo gallery from the event is available here.