Join the Casey Cares Foundation for their annual 5K run/one-mile walk on Saturday, August 3 at 8:00 am! You’ll be supporting the cause’s various palliative programs for thousands of critically ill children. Participants will go through the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and receive a race bib, as well as a finisher medal. There will also be awards for the largest team, the most spirited team, and the top fundraising team!
Registration is open through August 3, and we encourage both individuals and teams to register now. The registration and processing fee is $43.30 for adults and $11.60 for children who are eight and under. The Casey Cares Foundation is offering add-on Maryland Zoo admission tickets for $15 per person. These are for participants who would like to enjoy the zoo’s exhibits after the race. We hope to see you there!
What is the Casey Cares Foundation?
The Casey Cares Foundation exists to help keep spirits high for families with critically ill children. The foundation offers care packages for movie nights, tickets to sporting events, and opportunities to attend exciting live shows.
Casey Cares believes in continuous, ongoing support, instead of once-in-a-lifetime help. They focus on the entire family, as the results of active treatment impact everyone involved, not only the sick child.
The frequent hospital visits and worries weigh heavily on these families, and Casey Cares hopes to relieve that stress as much as possible by providing lasting memories.
A parent’s perspective
Annapolis Moms had the honor of speaking with Madelynne Masters, mother of Maverick, who at 18 months old was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome. This is an early form of acute myeloid leukemia. Masters described how isolating it was to have the new diagnosis take over her life. She learned about the Casey Cares Foundation through a social worker at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, and has now been involved in the foundation for multiple years.
“It can be scary, sad, and [oftentimes] lonely as others don’t totally understand your life as it is consumed by the disease and treatments,” said Masters. “That’s where people like those at Casey Cares come into play. They provide us with normalcy in a world that is anything but normal.”
Masters describes the Casey Cares community as amazing and supportive while her family navigates life having a critically ill child. The foundation has also enabled her to meet families similar to her own who truly understand what it’s like.
The Casey Cares Foundation and the donations it receives are a blessing to families like the Masterses. She wants everyone to know that the generous donations people give have made a huge impact on her and Maverick’s life.
“It takes a village to raise a healthy child, but it takes a community of villages to raise a critically ill child,” says Masters.
You can make a difference for families like hers by participating in the annual 5K run/one-mile walk. Strollers are welcome during the race. Register here. To donate to Casey Cares, click here.
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