[Video and photos below.] Lakewood, NJ – Yesterday, the Special Children’s Center of Lakewood held its First Annual Jog-a-Thon 5k run. The event began at the Special Children’s Center on Prospect Street and featured a live music, a carnival, rides, a barbecue supper and more.
The runners – about three dozen of them – left the Special Children Center shortly after 2 p.m. for the five-kilometer run. Accompanied by police officers from the Lakewood Police Department, they went west to Cross Street, then made a left on Cross Street and continued until Massachusetts Avenue. At Massachusetts Ave, they turned back onto Prospect Street and headed towards The Center to be greeted with great joy and appreciation by friends and supporters.
Lakewood Committeeman Isaac Akerman was among those to complete the run.
A ceremony was then held to recognize the runners and the support they garnered for the Center. The presentations were made by Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Serebrowski, who organized the event, as well as singer Yaakov Shwekey, whose wife, Jenine, is one of the founders the Center. After awarding the finalists, Yaakov sang “Im Eshkocheich,” with the assemblage joining along.
The Special Children’s Center provides respite and family support programs for over 200 families from Lakewood , Deal and Brooklyn who have special needs children with serious challenges, while at the same time providing desperately needed relief for their families.
The Center is a comprehensive resource for children with a broad range of physical, emotional, and developmental delays. The children in the Center’s programs have varied disabilities, including Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, seizure disorders and more.
Parents of special-needs children face the monumental task of dividing their time and attention between the special child and his siblings, especially at times when there is no school, when all are vying for their parents’ attention. The Center alleviates this overwhelming burden while providing the children with an environment that is warm, nurturing, and productive.
See below for photos:
Click below for video:
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