By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
Helene Cody wanted to bring a tradition back to town.
A 5K race had taken place in Cranbury for 35 years but suddenly stopped when backers couldn’t sustain it financially, according to Helene’s mother, Linda Morris Cody.
“She had taken up running as a freshman at Princeton High School and she loved it,” Ms. Cody said. “She also had a huge heart for community service.”
The 15-year-old Girl Scout decided to create a new 5K in town as her Gold Award project. She started a notebook with plans for the race but tragically her dream did not come to fruition in her lifetime. She passed away on Oct. 26, 2008, which was her 16th birthday, from a brain aneurysm.
“She touched so many people with her warmth and generosity,” Ms. Cody said. “She was beloved by her family and many friends. She had such a giving personality that manifested itself in all the service work that she performed.”
After Helene’s passing, Boy Scout Greg Carroll decided to continue her legacy of giving back to the community by organizing the Helene Cody Cranbury 5K and One-Mile Fun Run and her family created the Helene Cody Foundation.
Today, the run and the foundation work hand-in-hand to continue her joyful, generous spirit by inspiring youth to better their communities and themselves.
“Helene fully embraced life,” Ms. Cody said. “She bridged people together by seeking similarities and overlooking differences. She led by example with a positive attitude and enthusiastically helped others through Girl Scouts, Church Youth Group, and many charity runs. Helene’s lovable and upbeat personality, coupled with her goofy sense of humor, made her a friend to all. She is loved, missed, and remembered by her family, her friends, her teammates, the Cranbury community, and all who were lucky enough to be a part of her life.”
The foundation supports the Helene Cody Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a Princeton High School student who is part of the cross country or track program and has shown both leadership in the sport and dedication to community service, and the Helene Cody Memorial Cadet Scholarship, which is available to a Princeton High School senior who has shown outstanding service as part of the Cranbury EMS Squad. The foundation also awards a Helene Cody Memorial 8th Grade Award to a Cranbury School 8th grader who is part of the cross country or track program and has shown both leadership in the sport and dedication to community service as well as matching grants to youth groups.
“This year we donated helmets, padding, and supplies for Charlie Ill’s summer skateboard camp at Homefront,” Ms. Cody said. “We also work with the youth group at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury. We also work alongside of kids who want to volunteer. We help support them.”
For Ms. Cody, the day of the race “feels like a community group hug” because there are so many volunteers involved.
“I’m happy to see it continue,” Ms. Cody said, adding that the foundation now organizes the annual event. “I enjoy it because I get to see the best of our teenagers. I see how they can work together toward a large goal and I get to work alongside of them and help them accomplish that goal. It’s a very supportive environment and it’s really a feel good event.”
This year, the seventh annual Helene Cody Cranbury 5K and One-Mile Fun Run will be held Sept. 12. Proceeds from the event benefit the Helene Cody Foundation. The fun run/walk will start at 8:15 a.m. with registration from 7:30-8 a.m. while the 5K starts at 9 a.m. with registration from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Both events will begin across the street from the firehouse on Main Street.
T-shirts will be given to all registered participants in either event while supplies last. Every year the T-shirts are designed by a community member, with Maggie Sowa, a good friend of Helene, designing this year’s 5K shirt. The one-mile fun run shirt was designed by Sawyer Kinney, who will enter the second grade in the fall.
“The shirts always feature an origami crane,” Ms. Cody said. “When Helene was in the ICU her classmates wanted to do something so they started to make origami cranes in the tradition of Sadako and the legend that 1,000 cranes symbolized hope. They hoped she would be OK. They made over 3,000 cranes as a symbol of hope.”
In addition to the T-shirts, trophies will be awarded to the top three males and females overall in both the 5K and one-mile events. All fun runners/walkers will receive a medal upon completion of their race. For the 5K, additional trophies will be awarded to the top male and female from Cranbury as well as the top three males and females in each age group.
The event will also feature refreshments, raffles, a DJ, Rita’s water ice and massages after the race. Cranbury Day follows the race from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Helene believed in doing nice things so nice things would happen to her, according to her mother.
After she passed away, her mother received numerous condolences, one of which explained how Helene helped a stranger in a wheelchair at a party get a plate of food and feel comfortable.
“I just want people, particularly youths to know, that how you are in your everyday encounters really matters,” Ms. Cody said.
To help the foundation and to register for the race, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Cranbury/HeleneCodyCranbury5KrunWalkandOneMileFunRun.
