Throw on your comfiest pair of sneakers and walk for a cause in Bayside this month.
Join the Center for the Women of New York for their 10th annual Fort Totten Walkathon. On Saturday, Sept. 22, CWNY is holding their annual event in the historic Bayside park. From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., participants will take a scenic walk around Fort Totten that will conclude in an afternoon of light refreshments.
According to the event’s co-chair, Randi Malman, about 50 people participated in last year’s walkathon, which is about three kilometers around the park. In past years, CWNY founder Ann Jawin said that walkathon participants made their way to the Bayside Marina and back to the park.
Local officials, including Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Assemblyman Ed Braunstein and Councilman Paul Vallone are slated to attend the event, according to Jawin. Proceeds from the walkathon will go toward funding the organization’s operating costs for services and repair costs of their future headquarters at 207 Totten Ave.
Jawin founded CWNY in 1987 in order to empower the women in New York with the information and resources they need to address the economic, emotional or legal problems they face. The founder, who lived in Bay Terrace but later moved to Douglaston, told QNS that she had been involved in public life and fighting for women’s rights for her whole life.
“When you take care of women, you take care of their children and families. It benefits everyone,” said Jawin.
The organization currently operates out of a space donated by Katz at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens. CWNY is a voluntary nonprofit that is supported mostly by members’ dues and other volunteer efforts. Once renovations are finished at the historic building at 207 Totten Ave., Jawin said CWNY intends to move their operations to the location in April 2019.
Proceeds from the walkathon will go in part to renovating the building at Totten Avenue, which will serve multiple purposes for the organization, including a research and conference center and a “living museum dedicated to recording and aiding women’s struggles to achieve full equality in our society.” Services offered by CWNY include computer training, career counseling, legal assistance, support groups and more.
Those interested in registering for the event can do so at cwnywalk2018.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit cwny.org or check them out on the Center for the Women of New York Facebook page.
