“˜Heroes helping heroes’ run, walk to support hospital
By Anna Andreyeva
May 16, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Over a thousand people came out early Sunday morning to
participate in the fifth-annual UCLA Run/Walk, a fund-raiser for
the Mattel Children’s Hospital.
The run/walk is organized by a committee of the Student Welfare
Commission to raise money for the hospital’s child life/child
development program. The program began six years ago, as the
Children’s Walk for Life. Last year the event raised
$25,000.
This year’s goal was to engage a thousand participants and
raise at least $50,000, said Kacie McFarland, a second-year student
and event programmer. The total amount raised is yet to be
determined.
The theme of this year’s run/walk, “Heroes helping
heroes,” equates the efforts of children fighting diseases
and the staff and families that help them get through their
illnesses.
Both UCLA students and community members participated in the
run/walk.
During registration, from about 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the band
Raining Jane performed. A group of “Superheroes,” who
later on ran with and cheered the participants, initiated the
opening ceremony. They introduced Allan Axibal, host of the event
and the performer of Ch*nk in the play “N*gger, Wetb*ck,
Ch*nk.”
The guest speakers included Edward McCabe, physician in chief at
the Mattel Children’s Hospital, who spoke about the
importance of the child life/child development program. Robert
Reubhausen, whose son Aaron stayed in the hospital, and another
patient, spoke on their experiences with the program.
During the registration and opening ceremonies, participants
engaged in activities such as a silent auction, in which they could
bid for such prizes as a weekend stay for two at the Beverly
Hilton.
The Community Service Commission’s Project Literacy set up
games for kids to play.
Event sponsors, including Naked Juice and Relaxation, as well as
Westwood businesses such as Diddy Riese Cookies, provided free food
and drinks.
Before the run/walk began, cheerleaders from the Los Angeles
Avengers, an arena football league team, led a warmup.
The run/walk began next to the Arthur Ashe Student Health and
Wellness Center, and participants went up Charles E. Young Drive
past the Seeds University Elementary School towards North Campus.
They then turned next to the School of Law to go toward the Royce
Hall quad and continued around Perloff Hall. Then they returned to
Bruin Plaza, a total of about 5 kilometers. The run/walk was lead
by a university police department car.
Kyodo Taiko, a UCLA performance group, played drums in Bruin
Plaza. Jonathan Keyes, a soft rock musician from Los Angeles,
played while the results of the run/walk were summarized.
The winners of the race were announced in the categories of top
team (Bruin Runners), top pledger (Christopher and Jonathan Hung),
top male (Nicolas Koneffklatt) and top female (Katherine
Schettig).
“The music was cool. The inspirational talk really touched
me,” said Steven Homestead, a run/walk participant.
“It’s cool to help out a program that helps not only
kids but also provides help for their families.”
