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Community Corner

Community Will Race To Raise Funds For Organ & Tissue Donation

The NJ Share Network Foundation is hosting its inaugural 5K Run/Walk fundraiser in New Providence this Sunday to raise money and awareness for organ and tissue donation.

There are about 4,800 New Jersey residents on a transplant waiting list, and every organ donor can donate up to eight organs or help up to 75 people with tissue.

After helping about 21,000 people over its 24-year existence, the NJ Share Network will continue its mission when about 3,000 runners, walkers and community members of all ages come out this Sunday morning to the Share NJ 5K Run/Walk to raise funds and awareness for organ and tissue donation.

The certified race will start and finish at 691 Central Ave., the headquarters of the NJ Sharing Network, which works to save lives through organ and tissue donations.

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Elisse Glennon, executive director of the NJ Sharing Network Foundation, which raises funds for the organization, said the race is about more than money.

“It’s to paint a picture of our mission,” she said.

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The day will honor donors, transplant recipients and their families. Glennon said they are expecting participants from all aspects of the transplant community — from families to businesses to medical professionals.

“It’s really about bringing the community together,” she said.

As for the events, a one-mile “Fun Run” will kick off the day at 9 a.m., followed by the 5K Run/Walk at 10 a.m. A 50-yard “Sprout Sprint” for children 3 years old and under will close out the day at 11 a.m.

“This day is going to be fun for the whole family,” she said.

Glennon hopes the residents who live on the race route will also come out with their given pom poms and water hoses to cheer on and cool off the runners.

“We would love participation in that way,” Glennon said.

The local business community is also joining the cause, as the New Providence Business and Professional Association is co-hosting the race.

The NPBPA has hosted a 5K in New Providence for several years, and they joined NJ Share Network’s cause when the organization, which is also a member of the business association, chose New Providence for the race location, Glennon said.

The NPBPA is working out the race logistics, while the foundation is focusing on the families, she said.

“It’s been a wonderful partnership,” Glennon said.

Online registration for $25 closed Wednesday afternoon, but anyone still wishing to run or walk can register the day of for $30 from 7:30 to 9:45 a.m. Pre-registrants can pick up their race-day packets on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the foundation’s headquarters.

So far, the organization has raised more than $356,000 for this event, but their goal is $400,000.

“People are still fundraising,” Glennon said.

The top fundraising team, in honor of Hunterdon Central High School student Kevin Gilbert who passed this March, has 136 people and has raised more than $13,000 so far, she said.

The team in second place for their fund-raising efforts is in honor of Joe D’Addio, whose daughter Alyssa and wife Alberta, secretary of the foundation’s board, formed the team to continue his legacy.

Joe D’Addio, a tissue and organ donor, passed two years ago from an unexpected brain hemorrhage, said Alyssa D’Addio, a recent graduate of Muhlenberg College who works for the foundation part-time.

“It was out of nowhere,” she said. Her father, the vice president of sales for Pinnacle Foods Corporation, was healthy and coached many town teams, including her softball team for 12 years.

Alyssa and her mother, who reside in Watchung, decided to create a team to help spread awareness for the organization. With more than 50 people on their team, they have raised almost $10,000.

And the team has signed on members of all ages — from her 5-year-old cousin to her 75-year-old grandfather.

“We just contacted our own network and everyone came together to honor his legacy," Alyssa said. "It stretches out farther than our family. This kind of philanthropy is becoming contagious. [People] are realizing how much comfort this loss can give a family."

She said seeing other donor and recipient families brings happiness to her and her family. Even though they may not be her father’s recipients, knowing he has helped others brings her comfort.

“We had a choice for him to help others. This allowed us to let him live on," she said. "When [a family] feels like they’re left with nothing, this gives them something."

If you would like to register to become an organ donor, you can do so online at sharenj.org.

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