Chasing Their Dreams… “One Step at a Time” is the aptly named fundraiser/awareness event that will take place at the Tewksbury Memorial High School track on Sunday, June 24th. All parents and children are encouraged to join this “Kids Fun Run” and celebration of dreams.
Donations will benefit St. Jude’s “Who Just Dream to Live” and The Lia DiFronzo Fund. Lia is a 6 1/2 year-old Tewksbury girl suffering from a rare form of leukemia.
Registration starts at 9:00 am and the Run starts at 10:00 am. Each child who enters the fun run will receive a yellow star. Their dream will be written on the star and the star will be placed on the child’s back. Children may then choose from a 100meter, 200meter or 400meter run. Upon completion of the running, the children will receive a special certificate that has been personalized by their parent or guardian.
“As we move through the fast paced life, we will sometimes overlook our children’s creativity and talents that are bottled up inside of them. These little people are amazing. Many kids are only involved in structured activities and forget how to think ‘outside’ the box. Now is the time to give them the space and support to create and dream,” said event organizer and Julann Briggs, of Tewksbury, in a flyer promoting the event.
Tewksbury resident Chris Stone is helping Briggs set-up and run this event. She emphasized that the purpose of this day is to get parents to listen to their kids and to encourage their children to have dreams. They don’t need to be big dreams; it could be riding a bike or it could be bicycling in the Olympics…what is important is that children have dreams.
In a flyer circulating via e-mail, Briggs explained the goal of the Chasing Their Dreams event: “To allow your children to create and express ideas with no resistance and full understanding. For parents to understand how important their listening and support can change a child’s outlook and attitude to communicate. When we listen, we understand! When we support, we allow creativity! Let your child express their thoughts and keep an open mind. Our children are more amazing than we can possibly imagine and they have ideas and dreams that are important to them. We all can support our children more, and when we do, they will feel important and they will be heard.”
To the parents, event organizers send this message: “From now until the day of the celebration, explore with your child all possibilities and ideas they can create and express with your support. See if they want to dance, fish, paint, take a trip, write a book or a song, the possibilities are endless when we listen.”
In helping this project come to life, any contributions, participation, ideas, and support will be appreciated. Donations may be brought to the event or can be sent to Lowell Five Bank where a special account has been set up. Please make checks payable to “Chasing Their Dreams.” For more information please contact Chris Stone at 978-851-7780 or Julann Briggs at 978-804-1629.
Copyright 2007 CBLEGVOLD All Rights Reserved.
