24th Annual Walk-a-thon – Family Matters

On Saturday, May 18th, Family Matters hosted its 24th annual Walk-a-thon. Over 450 walkers were outfitted in periwinkle t-shirts, participated in a warm-up provided by members of the Teen Girls Program, and joined together to enjoy the 5-mile walk along the lake amid lovely spring weather.

Once they returned from the walk, they savored the picnic foods, participated in a free raffle, jumped in the bounce house, relieved sore muscles with a chair massage and listened to drumming performances from the Teen Boys Program.

Winners of the Golden Sneaker Award:

Top Fundraising Team: St Luke’s Church, Evanston

Team with most Youth: Family Connections

Team with most Members: Community Tutoring

Team with most Spirit: Friends of Phoebe

As the philosopher Henry David Thoreau says, “Friends…cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” At each Family Matters gathering, we are reminded of the many friends – individuals, organizations, and businesses – that believe in us and support us as we work together to fulfill this vision.

Many thanks, and much appreciation to our friends who continue to cherish our hopes and are kind to our dreams.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

ALBANK–Action Lead Services–Brodicol Products–Devon Bank–Financial Manager Society–Jason’s Foods–Kraff Eye Institute–Northshore Automotive–SharPrint–UPrinting

We are very grateful to the following restaurants and businesses for their generous contributions to our bounteous picnic:

Bakers Square–Caribbean American Baking Co.–Clark-Devon Hardware–Dominick’s on Howard–Dunkin Donuts- Loyola–Eddie’s Food Mart–Edgewater Produce–Family Matters Board Members–Food 4 Less, Evanston–Heartland Café–Lemoi Ace Hardware–Metropolis Coffee–Morse Street Fruit–New Leaf Grocery–Paulina Certified–Rogers Park Fruit Market-Rub BBQ–Sol Café–Strack & Van Til–Subway, N. Clark–The Common Cup–The Fish Keg–Trader Joe’s– Lincoln Park