Runners participate in 13th Bruin Run/Walk to raise funds for Chase Child Life Program

Runners clad in brightly colored shirts emblazoned with team names such as “Team Emily” and “Team Super Jesus” gathered in Wilson Plaza.

They cheered and performed 8-claps before bursting through the starting gates of the 13th annual Bruin Run/Walk Sunday morning.

More than 900 people participated in the 5K Run/Walk, raising more than $48,000 through registration fees and donations. The Bruin Run/Walk circled the UCLA campus and raised money to support the Chase Child Life Program at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, which works with pediatric patients and families to help alleviate fears and anxieties involved with illness and hospitalization.

The event, themed “Make a Splash, Make a Difference,” was organized by a committee within the Student Welfare Commission. The committee worked in conjunction with the Mattel Children’s Hospital, said Alexx Robles, a director for the event and a third-year geography/environmental studies student.

In its 13-year history, Bruin Run/Walk has donated more than $350,000 to the hospital. Last year’s event raised more than $80,000. As of the beginning of the race, Sunday’s event had raised $48,000. Additional contributions came from race-day registrations and silent auction proceeds.

The program pairs patients and child life specialists who generally stay with the patients throughout their treatment at the hospital. These specialists work to create a safe environment and establish a trusting relationship with patients and their families, said Adina Bodolay, a child life specialist at the Children’s Hospital.

Specialists also work to provide patients and families with a constant familiar face, Bodolay said, and does this by using different types of therapy, like music and art, as well as having specialists who are trained in child psychology to help explain unfamiliar medical treatments and illnesses.

Sunday’s event also featured a Kids Race, performances from student organizations Vietnamese Student Union Modern and Cadenza A Capella and activities for children.

Children sponsored by the hospital and local businesses attended the event and introduced themselves in front of the crowd. These children were the namesakes of various “Teams,” which were comprised of their families, friends and volunteers.

At a silent auction table, volunteers auctioned off items such as a basketball autographed by the 2010-2011 Los Angeles Lakers championship team, a guitar signed by Avril Lavigne as well as concert tickets and spa day and yoga certificates, to raise additional money.

For many runners, like Laura Clugson, the event provided a philanthropy opportunity ““ and a good workout.

The first-year physiological sciences student, said she first heard of the event through the UCLA philanthropy club Bruin Belles Service Association and decided to join.

Catia Sternini, a professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, attended with her daughter, Federica Brecha, a volunteer at the Children’s Hospital and the leader of Team Casey. It was their third time at the 5K Run/Walk, though Sternini sat out on Sunday’s event because of an inflamed leg nerve.

As a former general practitioner, Sternini said the program is important because it keeps patients in good spirits, which is essential to the recovery process.

“The medical treatment (at the Children’s Hospital) is one of the best, but kids still need distraction and to realize they can still have fun,” she said.

The families of the children spoke of how the Chase Child Life Program helped their families cope with the emotional turmoil diagnoses present and thanked participants for their fundraising efforts.

During the event, one team had an additional reason to walk. Team Kenadie, which had roughly 20 people, had planned to participate in the event with Kenadie herself.

But on Sunday, they made their way through the course without the 13-month-old girl, who passed away two weeks ago. The team walked in remembrance of Kenadie and to support the Chase Child Life Program.

“Kenadie’s not here, but this is for her all together,” said Shane Humphreys, Kenadie’s father, adding that his wife now wants to work for Child Life. The organization gave Kenadie toys and played with her, all of which the family is thankful for, he said.

Pete Humphreys, Kenadie’s grandfather, said that the family will most likely participate again next year in order to remember Kenadie and support the program.

The event drew out many hospital staff members, such as Dave Thomas, a hospital assistant at the UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital in Santa Monica. Working in the operating room, Thomas said he sometimes feels disconnected with the patients because he only has contact with them for surgery.

Perched on the steps of the Student Activities Center before the start of the race, he said when he went on a walk-through of the Children’s Hospital facilities. He was impressed with the assistance the Chase Child Life Program provided for the children and their families. He said the walk-through made him realize how important it was to support the program to keep it running.

Sporting a purple T-shirt with “Team Allie” emblazoned in front, Bob Newman, Allie’s father said it was uplifting to see so many people running for the Chase Child Life Program and thanked both event participants and the staff of the program.

When his daughter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, in 2011, Newman said the program provided much-needed support for Allie and her family.

“What makes (the program) so unique starts with the commitment of the staff and feeds down to families,” he said. “You can’t fake it. We can never repay them for their dedication.”