More than 200 turn out for debut Partners in Care fundraiser in Winston-Salem
Led by a robust turnout in Winston-Salem, a pair of annual North Carolina charity runs has raised more than $10,000 toward head and neck cancer education, screening and treatment in both the Triad and Asheville.
The debut Partners in Care 5K Run and 2-Mile Walk in Winston-Salem drew a total of 227 participants and volunteers in early May to the Muddy Creek Greenway at Jamison Park.
Rebecca Miller of Winston-Salem paced the female runners, while Joseph Miller, also of Winston-Salem, was the fastest male participant.
In Asheville, Sierra Garrison of Maggie Valley, N.C., was the top female competitor, while Steve Williams of Carmel, Indiana, led the way among male runners.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the amazing turnout at our first Winston-Salem event,” said Kathy Tolentino, director of the Fort Myers, Florida-based, nonprofit Partners in Care Foundation, which works across the country. “Both Asheville and the Triad showed up in a big way on behalf of their friends, family and neighbors navigating their own cancer journeys.”
The charitable foundation hosts a nationwide series of spring charity runs, with events in California, Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Washington and West Virginia.
The race series began 11 years ago to bring awareness to head and neck cancers and to raise money for those unable to afford costly recovery therapies that often aren’t covered by insurance, or which require a very high copay.