On September 29, more than 350 participants came together for the 3.5 mile walk around Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield. It was a beautiful fall day for the 23rd annual Paces for Faces Walk and Family Picnic!
Over $36,000 was raised, but we are not quite at our goal of $50,000, so continue your fundraising efforts until the October 31 finish line! As always, these funds will be used to further FFC’s educational outreach through free publications, videos, informational programs, the Foundation’s website and the annual student scholarship awards.
Again this year, coffee, cocoa and donuts were provided by Erik Lania and Dunkin Donuts for people to enjoy as children were entertained with face painting, temporary tattoos, and balloon creations. Our red carpet “photo booth” continues to be a crowd pleaser as families take their team photos.
As walkers made their way to the tent for lunch, they were greeted by some lively strolling entertainment including ball and club juggling as well as hula hooping, a stilt walker, and more balloon creations. A delicious lunch was provided in part by Roche Bros, and a beautiful cake by D’Amici’s Bakery.
This is the eighth year that FFC has recognized those individuals who have raised $750 online by September 13. This year’s Smile Striders wore red while the rest of the walkers sported navy blue shirts. Our deep gratitude goes to each of this year’s Smile Striders: Thomas Breen, Norah Costigan, Eliana Dormitzer, Maya Gray, Tara Greiner, Niko Joakim, Katie McGillivray, Wyatt Nelson, Elan Oliva, Milton Rogers, Stephen Shusterman, and Dhruv Trivedi.
To the committee and our largest number of volunteers to date, we extend our deepest thanks! We had 50 people volunteer their time this year to help the day run smoothly! This year’s walk committee was lead by walk chair Olivia Oppel, and included Vice-President Ann-Marie Rogers, Monir Sakha, Liz O’Keefe, Kara Jackman, Meera Oliva, Ursula Costigan, Tara Greiner and Helen Ng with support from many others! Thank you to the members of the FFC Board of Directors and 50 additional volunteers who also donated their time to ensure the walk’s success.
Last, many thanks to the individuals, families and businesses who donated to this year’s raffle raising just over $1,600. A special thank you to Roche Brothers, Dunkin’ Donuts and D’Amici’s Bakery for their donations again this year.
If you are interested in serving on next year’s walk committee or volunteering to help the day of the walk, let us know. You can email us at walk@facesofchildren.org or call us at 617-355-8299.
Walk participant Jennie Margaret commented on Facebook the evening after the walk and we couldn’t agree more, “Such a great day! Thanks for all who made this happen! See you next year!”
Photos can be found in our photo gallery. Please note that not all photos have been uploaded yet. To request full resolution photos, email your request with image title(s) to communications@facesofchildren.org
