Cancer Charity’s 5K Race, Barbecue Fundraiser in Jeopardy

Organizers from the Kathleen F. Marks Memorial Foundation are reviewing their options after Peekskill city officials declined their request to waive all park and city fees for a race and festival they had tentatively planned in June.

The foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money for cancer research and support services for cancer patients . The group is named after Kathleen Marks, a Peekskill resident who lost her battle with cervical cancer in 2001 at the age of 48.

During a Monday’s Peekskill Common Council work session, officials said it would be hard to approve the request, given the ciy's current budget constraints. Acting city Manager Brian Havranek suggested that the group find sponsors or try to find form a partnership with another established race.

“In this day and age, the city just can’t contribute those types of dollars and support,” Havranek said.

Crystal Schwer, president of the foundation, said this would be group’s first year holding the race and foundation. She said the organization is fairly young and outside of the its second annual Halloween Masquerade Ball, which was held in October, hasn’t had the opportunity to schedule events on a consistent basis from year to year.

Schwer said holding the race in Peekskill is significant because Marks had such strong roots in the community. She also believes the event would have gone a long way in drawing people to the community and showing them what the city has to offer.

“We may try to hold the race at another location, unless we can find a sponsor for the fee’s surrounding the race,” Schwer said. “We may try and hold it inside of a park or even a trail run. We are not ruling out doing the Race in the City of Peekskill, but it does make things a little more complicated as we are 100 percent donation funded, and in order to make the most impact from the fundraiser we would need to have these fees covered either through sponsorships or waived.”