2nd annual Walk for Israel
coming to Battlefield park
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — The second annual 5K Solidarity Walk for Israel will take place on Sept. 14 at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Route 33, rain and shine.
"The Jewish Community Center of Western Monmouth is proud to be sponsoring the second Walk for Israel," said Matt Benjamin, president of the JCC of Western Monmouth.
Benjamin said last year’s event had a profound impact on many people in the community and said the funds that were raised provided relief and hope for many victims of terror in Israel.
All of the proceeds collected from the walk this year will benefit the IsraelNOW Emergency Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County, which is part of the Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC), a special campaign being coordinated by United Jewish Communities, the national organization of the North American Jewish Federations.
"We at the JCCWM feel this is a wonderful opportunity to help those in need in Israel," said Shelley Feingold, outreach director of the JCC of Western Mon-mouth. "Too often the fatalities are focused on and the injured are forgotten. We want everyone to know that we think about them and want to do whatever it takes to help them."
The collected funds are distributed in Israel through the Jewish Agency for Israel and support civil emergency needs including social, educational and medical programs and equipment, said Ann Goldman, director of planning for the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County.
According to Susan Heckler of Manal-apan, walk-a-thon chairwoman, funds from the first walk were used to help several families, including the Yaacabov family, whose father sustained massive bodily injuries during a terrorist bombing. In addition to a serious head injury which left him in a coma for two weeks, the family was left with serious financial needs.
Walk-a-thon funds have also been used to help the Siton family, whose mother was murdered and whose family apartment is in shambles, and for Laurent Blum, who was seriously wounded in an attack on Dec. 1, 2001 while sitting in a Jerusalem restaurant. Ten others died in that attack.
Registration at the park will take place from 9-9:30 a.m. Sept. 14. There will be speakers from 9:30-10 a.m. and the walk will begin promptly at 10 a.m. and proceed a distance of 5 kilometers through rolling, scenic, unpaved park trails. The paths are not accessible to strollers or wheelchairs. Sneakers or walking shoes are highly recommended.
Carpooling is also recommended due to a limited number of parking spaces at the park, and volunteers are needed to walk, stay and help, or just cheer on the walkers.
Registration fees are $18 per person over 13 years of age and $13 per child under 13. All children under 13 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
All participants who register before Sept. 1 will receive an event T-shirt, water bottle, pin and a poster. To register early, enclose a check payable to the JCCWM, with a registration form. The forms are available at the JCC office in the Galleria shopping center, Route 9 north, or by calling Feingold at (732) 683-9300.
Mail the check and the registration form to JCCWM, 100 Route 9 North, The Galleria, Manalapan 07726. Registration is due no later than Sept. 1 (late registrations may not receive an event T-shirt).
Sponsor sheets will be mailed to registrants. There is still space on the back of the T-shirt for sponsors who donate $150 or more.
For more information call Shelley Feingold at (732) 683-9300 or send an e-mail message to Susan Heckler at [email protected].