Before you put on your sneakers to walk, buy a "sneaker" for a worthy cause.
The Second Annual South Queens Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon to Cure Diabetes will be Saturday, June 5. And between now and then, you can purchase “sneakers” to help the cause.
“Every dollar goes to the JDRF,” said Joe De Candia, president of the International Society of SS Cosma and Damiano, which organizes the event.
Last year’s walk raised over $125,000 – and De Candia hopes to beat that amount this year.
The paper sneakers range from $1 to $20, and go toward a good cause.
Each year over 15,000 children are diagnosed with diabetes in the United States – 40 per day – according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
De Candia’s own son Jacob was diagnosed last year, so the cause is very close to his heart.
The Second Annual South Queens Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon to Cure Diabetes kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Ave Maria Academy schoolyard (formerly Our Lady of Grace School) in Howard Beach. Sign-in is at 8 a.m.
There will be free breakfast, lunch and ice cream, face painting, balloon artists and a DJ.
And, like last year, the walk will draw such celebrities as Goomba Johnny from radio station KTU; Joe Causi from WCBS FM; Tony Sirico, a.k.a. “Paulie Walnuts,” from “The Sopranos;” former “American Idol” contestant Kevin Covais (a.k.a. “Chicken Little); and maybe even some New York Mets.
“It’s really a great family event,” said De Candia.
To find out more about the Second Annual Walk, call 718-835-2224.
To learn more about the JDRF, visit www.jdrf.org.
