The 14th Annual Flag Day 5K Run and Fun Walk will be held on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. at the Lyons VA Campus of the NJ VA Healthcare System at 151 Knollcroft Road in the Lyons section of Bernards Township.
Proceeds benefit Community Hope's Hope for Veterans Programs that will serve more than 1,000 homeless and wounded veterans and their families struggling with homelessness this year.
On the race course, runners and walkers will pass two of Community Hope's veterans programs located on the Lyons VA campus: The 62-unit Valley Brook Village, built in 2013, and the 95-bed Hope for Veterans(r) Transitional Housing Program.
"You don't have to be a runner to make a difference," says Community Hope CEO J. Michael Armstrong of Bernardsville. "We understand that so many people in our community want to help our veterans. We also recognize that they wish to continue honoring those in their family who have proudly served our country and so these Tribute Donations continue to grow and be an important part of the Flag Day fundraising event." Armstrong, who is a runner and will be participating in the 5K event, said that nearly $10,000 of the $90,000 raised last year were from tribute donations.
Individuals can make a Tribute Donation online at www.hopeforveterans.org/5k in honor or memory of A Special Veteran in Your Life to help house and support homeless and wounded veterans These honorary and memorial tributes will remain on the webpage through the remainder of 2015.
Jena Rae of Millington, the 2015 Flag Day Volunteer Committee Chair, said the goal is to increase the tribute donations this year. "It's a wonderful way to honor those in our family who are serving our country today and just as important to remember our loved ones who served in the wars of the last century by doing good for a fellow veteran who is struggling today," says Rae.
Community Hope is the leading charity in New Jersey serving homeless veterans and at-risk veteran families. The nonprofit organization has helped more than 2,000 veterans overcome poverty, despair, mental illness and addiction since opening their first veterans program in 2004. Its largest programs are located on the Lyons VA campus in Bernards Township, Somerset County where Community Hope opened a 95-bed transitional housing program 11 years ago and a 62-unit veterans housing village in 2013.
Online registration is open at www.hopeforveterans.org/5k for runner and walker registration, forming teams or peer-to-peer fundraising. Online registration closes at noon on June 10th and day-of-registration opens at 5:30 p.m. on June 11th. The pre-registration cost to run is $25 or $22 for USTF members, day-of race registration is $30. Registration for walkers is $15. Pre-registered participants will receive a T-shirt.
Medals will be awarded to the fastest overall male and female finishers, the top three male and female finishers in eight age groups and the top three fastest running teams.
Accenture is the Patriot Sponsor for the event and DRS Technologies, Actavis + Allergan and Janssen Pharmaceuticals are Five-Star General Sponsors of the race. Additional sponsors include MetLife and Novo Nordisk as General Sponsors, The Courier News as Brigadier Sponsor, and Celgene Corporation, Millington Savings Bank and Sanofi U.S. as Colonel Sponsors.