Connecticut parish to host benefit 5K race for CCRF (07/20/97)

Connecticut parish to host benefit 5K race for CCRF

DANBURY, Conn. - Holy Trinity Orthodox Church here will host a five-kilometer road race on Saturday, September 20, to benefit the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF). The funds raised will be used to aid newborns and children who suffer from cancer or birth defects as a result of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chornobyl, Ukraine.

The 5K race will start and finish at the downtown campus of Western Connecticut State University. The opening ceremonies are scheduled for 9 a.m. with a one-kilometer children's walk followed by the adult race at 9:30 a.m.

Area businesses. churches and individuals are being invited to sponsor the event at one of three levels: $300, $1,000 or $2,500. Six sponsors have already made commitments: Wheat, First Securities, Inc.; Danbury Holiday Inn; Guardian Alarm Services; AccuQuick Car Care; Dr. Lorraine Fedyna (optometrist); and the Village Inn in Lennox, Mass.

Contributors may also sponsor individual runners or walkers and pledge a sum for each kilometer of the race (for example, $2 per kilometer for a total of $10; $5 kilometer for a total of $25, etc.).

Each runner will receive a commemorative T-shirt; special prizes for first, second and third place finishers will be awarded in each category (men's, women's and masters over age 40).

The CCRF is an award-winning charity that has delivered more than 1,000 tons of humanitarian assistance, valued at over $40 million to hospitals in Ukraine. This spring, CCRF completed its 18th medical airlift to Ukraine.

The need for continuing assistance to the Chornobyl region has become more urgent in recent years as cancer rates have climbed and local governments have been unable to provide basic hospital supplies or medicines. The rate of thyroid cancer among children exposed to radioactive iodine has soared to levels 80 times higher than normal, and Ukraine's infant mortality is among the highest in the world.

For more information on the 5K race, contact the Rev. Luke Mihaly at (203) 748-0671; fax: (203) 794-1490; or CCRF's Connecticut office at (203) 407-0261. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to: CCRF, c/o Race Headquarters, Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, 17 Roberts Ave., Danbury, CT 06810.

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