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Overcast ‘A last push’ to raise funds for scholarships
Although it’s only a mile, the April 29 Color Fun Run will go a long way to help the senior class of Lynbrook High School.
This fun run will be the first event of its kind hosted by the Lynbrook Moms’ and Dads’ Athletic Club. The club raises money annually for scholarships awarded at a dinner at the beginning of June. Traditionally, the funds come from membership and smaller fundraising activities, but Jeanine Difiore, a co-president of the club, wanted to try something different this year.
“In recent years, fundraising has become more of a challenge due to several things,” Difiore said. “Covid times and the economic squeeze are perhaps the primary reasons for what many are feeling.”
Along with Covid, Difiore noted that the Lynbrook athletics have seen an “uptick in additional parent-run athletic clubs.” As a result, she wanted the club to host the Color Fun Run to bring all of these organizations together.
“As a last push for the 2023 school year to raise funds for senior athletic scholarships, the Lynbrook Moms’ and Dads’ have decided to host a color run,” Difiore said.
In recent years, the club gave between $12,000 and $16,000 to the scholarship fund. According to the club’s website, the athletic scholarships are given to seven male and seven female athletes who have excelled in varsity sports. The scholarships are given out at the June 5 Senior Varsity Awards Dinner.
With community togetherness as the goal of the fun run, Difiore said that the event is available to everyone. “From very young to adults, it’s an exciting way to bring the community together,” she said. “The course is just under a mile, and it can be done up to three times.”
The Color Fun Run will begins at 11:30 a.m. on April 29 at South Middle School. Registration for the event is conducted through Give.MyBooster.com/LynbrookRun.
“We are hoping to have about 200 participants at this event, as it is the first fun run event that the Lynbrook Moms’ and Dads’ has ever hosted,” Difiore said. “Day by day, we are inching closer to our goal and currently we have about 80 participants who have pre-registered at this time.”
The run is not a school-sponsored event, but Difiore is working around the clock to bring the Lynbrook community together for this event.
For every lap that a participant completes, they will be sprayed with various colors at different “color stations,” Difiore said. “This blast of color makes for an extra exciting run or walk.”
The first 100 people to register will receive a t-shirt with a logo designed by Lynbrook High School student Dan Cullen.
“Dan is a junior graphic design student at Lynbrook High School who won a design contest to have his logo placed onto our first ever Color Run Shirt,” Difiore said.
Difiorie, who organized this event, said she is hoping to have Lynbrook’s 2022-23 varsity teams and their coaches at the event. “I feel it is extremely important that the Lynbrook coaches and Athletic teams support any and all Moms’ and Dads’ fundraisers as the funds raised go directly to scholarships specifically for graduating athletes,” she said.
Difiorie encourages participants to “wear white” at this event. “Ultimately our goal is to bring another fun event to the Lynbrook community while helping our student athletes as they begin the next chapter of their lives,” she said.
