Go, TEAM ELLA!

Ed and I went to the 2nd annual Zoe's Race at Oakledge Park today.  The race, a fundraiser coordinated with the Howard Center in Burlington is named for seven-year-old Zoe, who nearly drowned when she was 18 months old. That incident left Zoe severely disabled, and her mom soon learned how expensive it is to make a house wheelchair-accessible—and how few resources there are to help.

Elizabeth and a big network of friends put together a team in honor of 7-year-old Ella Peoples-Clark.  "TEAM ELLA" grew to include many friends and a big part of the Minadeo family including Elizabeth and Chris, Anthony and Lucy and their cousins Nick, Marisa and Dominick, Aunt Elise and Grandma Elaine.  The team also designed and stenciled their beautiful tee shirts.

Anthony and Chris ran in the kids' 1K race, along with little Shai, then the whole family and TEAM ELLA ran the 5K in 85 degree heat.  Whew!

Thanks to the team's hard work and tireless fundraising, TEAM ELLA raised over $3,500!

Zoe's mom said she was “absolutely thrilled that there was incredible support and generosity from the local community. We were able to fund all the requests that were made this year. As a result of Zoe's Race, two families were able to remodel their bathrooms to make them more accessible for their children.  Another family is having a decaying ramp into their home rebuilt for their daughters who are both in wheelchairs.”  Zoe's mom said there is a great need for this type of financial help. The race money goes directly to these families. “It's a very exciting and worthwhile run to be a part of,” she said.

Everyone had a great time and it was wonderful to see the results of such a big community effort.