The Valerie Fund Blog

On October 3rd, hundreds of Valerie Fund patients, families, and supporters came together virtually because we could not come together in person in Verona Park. COVID-19 was not going to stop The Valerie Fund Community, however, and The Virtual Valerie Fund Walk & JAG-ONE Physical Therapy 5K was both a first and a great success!

By now you've probably heard that The Valerie Fund Walk & JAG-ONE Physical Therapy 5K has gone virtual for 2020. Going from in-person at Verona Park to virtual requires a lot of changes for many people but what does it mean when it comes to fundraising? Let's take a look at what a virtual event means for fundraising especially in 2020!

Even Mother Nature seemed to understand our disappointment in missing the opportunity to be together in Verona Park. She provided a weekend of spectacular weather to temper our sadness that for the first time in many years, we wouldn't be able to honor the courage and resilience of our Valerie Fund patients and their families in a very public way. We traded our blues for a stunning blue, cloudless sky three days in a row. Many of our supporters, more than ready to get rid of built-up quarantine inertia, made the time to walk or run in their own neighborhoods on behalf of The Valerie Fund.

Isabella has been a part of the Valerie Fund family for many years now. She was treated at The Valerie Fund Center at Morristown Medical Center's Goryeb Children's Hospital, gone to Camp Happy Times, volunteered at events and in the office, and, closest to her heart, been team captain of Bella's Bunch at The Valerie Fund Walk & JAG-ONE Physical Therapy 5K. Let's learn a little bit more about her story and why the Walk is so important to her.

When kids are going through treatment at a Valerie Fund Children's Center, they have the strength and tenacity to never give up. How could we do any less for them? We had to postpone The Valerie Fund Walk & JAG-ONE Physical Therapy 5K in Verona Park to October 3rd due to COVID-19 but we're not letting that get us down. On June 13th, the original date of the Walk & 5K, we are now hosting a brand new event - The Valerie Fund Virtual Walk & Run!