Posted: January 4, 2005

Athletics: SBLI Falmouth Road Race Helps Raise More Than $460,000 for Charities

The 2004 pledges have been collected and the donations have been tallied, and the SBLI Falmouth Road Race was directly responsible for over $460,000 raised for 67 non-profit groups.

The race made direct donations of more than $33,000 to local organizations, including numerous sports teams, youth and scout groups and community organizations such as Falmouth Hospital, the Cape Cod Free Clinic, Falmouth parent-teacher organizations, Celebration 2004, the Falmouth Teen Center, the Falmouth Amateur Radio Club, Falmouth Community Television, Falmouth Band Parents, Falmouth Service Center, Falmouth Parks Department and the Visiting Nurses Association.

In addition to the direct donations, more than $427,000 was raised by runners who received pre-approved entries into the race in exchange for soliciting donations for charity. This total exceeds last year's tally by more than $100,000.

"It has been very gratifying to see the tremendous response to this program," said SBLI President and CEO Robert K. Sheridan. "Most of the participants have gone well beyond the minimum fund-raising requirement to earn their race number. This has become a true labor of love for them. We are proud to be a part of this effort."

The leading beneficiary of the program was the Lymphoma Research Foundation, which generated $110,000. The group was led by Peter and Melanie Karp and their daughter Lauren, of Falmouth and Needham, who combined their efforts to raise $27,000. Dana Harris of Sudbury managed to complete the race and raise $14,000, just three weeks after completing chemotherapy. Lisa Horowitz of Newton and her teammates raised $36,000.

The second-leading fundraiser was Dana Farber Cancer Institute, whose team generated $68,000 in donations. "This was amazing for a non-marathon," said team leader Jan Ross of the institute. "We easily exceeded our goal of $50,000. SBLI and the race committee were wonderful in helping us."

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation also racked up a record tally, with $45,000 rolling in from their team of 15. Next highest was a Cape Cod-based group and a newcomer to the program. The Run for Recognition to Benefit the Mashpee Wampanoag Housing Program raised more than $35,000, led by Paula Peters of Falmouth and Alice Lopez, the director of the Housing program for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. The money raised will be used to assist members of the Wampanoag tribe who have difficulty finding housing on Cape Cod.

"We took a team approach and found the whole experience to be spiritually uplifting for everyone involved," said Peters. "Some of our younger members received a tremendous boost in self-esteem, as they were successful in raising money and were also very proud to run seven miles for the first time." Peters said that groups from as far away as Bermuda made donations. "The experience far exceeded our expectations," she said.

Several groups raised over $20,000, including Gosnold, a Falmouth-based substance abuse and mental health treatment facility. Melanie Florio of Pocasset was their leading fund-raiser; she completed her second Falmouth and helped the group more than double their 2003 total with $20,900.

Also in the $20,000 range were the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Team Cheryl for Lymphoma Research and Boston Children's Hospital.

Easter Seals had another good race, as 13 runners raised $16,000 for the organization, led by Julia Cox, 17, of East Falmouth, who collected pledges totaling $2,900. This was her fifth year running on behalf of Easter Seals; she has raised more than $10,000 since she started.

Cox said doing something athletic to raise money for people with disabilities "gives me a whole new appreciation for my ability to do the road race."

Others supported by donated race entries included American Diabetes Foundation, American Liver Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Woburn, Cam Neely Foundation, Cape Cod Center for Women, Crohns and Colitis Foundation, Falmouth Hospital, Falmouth 300 Committee Land Trust, Gordon Heald ALS Fund, Kristin Amico Sesselman Leukemia Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Steppingstone Foundation and the Visiting Nurses Association of Middleboro.

For more information, go to the race website at: www.SBLIFalmouthRoadRace.com.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.