Newtown Business Owner Running The Holy Half For 'A Love For Life'

NEWTOWN, PA — Newtown resident and co-owner of the Newtown Hardware House, Meg Newell, is heading back to her alma mater - the University of Notre Dame - this weekend to run in its annual "Holy Half Marathon" while raising funds for Newtown-based "A Love For Life."

Founded by Newtown Borough resident Christine Edmonds, "A Love for Life" raises funds for pancreatic cancer research at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. The organization was founded in memory of her husband, Kevin, who died from the disease.

"Running this race is a way for me to celebrate the can-do spirit and love for life that my friend Kevin Edmonds and his sister Nora embodied," said Newell. "More recently, we have also lost a faithful pillar of our Newtown community - Gina Pine - and I wanted to do something to help raise awareness and funds for this very under-funded cancer."

Gina, who had owned and operated Salve Regina in Newtown for many years, died recently from the disease. "Our family greatly appreciates Christine and Meg's efforts to raise money to battle one of the most deadly forms of cancer. Christine and Meg have been friends of the Pine family for many years," said Gina's husband, Barry.

Meg Newell with family members showing their "Irish" spirit. (Courtesy of A Love for Life)

The Holy Half Marathon is one of the largest student-organized events at the University of Notre Dame. 1,700 runners participate annually, coming from the Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College campuses, the South Bend community, as well as the Irish fan base and alumni network nationwide.

The Holy Half has become one of the greatest traditions at the University of Notre Dame. Runners take pride not only in training for and completing a 13.1-mile race, but also in making a difference to the South Bend community and beyond, on behalf of the university.

"Hopefully the money we raise will improve outcomes for those who are facing this challenging diagnosis today," said Newell. "I ran the Holy Half several years ago, but running it again has been on my list for a while. I am thrilled to be running on behalf of 'A Love For Life' because it will allow me to combine two of my lifetime joys, Notre Dame (where I, my father, brother and two of our children attended) and running, in pursuit of a greater cause - raising awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research.”

Maggie Newell with her mom, Meg. (Courtesy of A Love for Life)

Edmonds said Meg and Bill Newell have been a huge part of A Love For Life since its inception in 2012. "The Newells were close friends with my husband Kevin who died from pancreatic cancer that year. We had so much fun together over the decade that we were neighbors, and Meg and I (and our friend Rebecca Bancroft), were business partners for a dozen years as well.

"We have an annual 'Jingle Mingle' charity shopping event at Newtown Hardware House every November, and a portion of the profits of their world-famous cookies goes to our researchers at Penn Medicine," continued Edmonds. "Their generosity has helped us raise over a million dollars for our team, and we give 100 percent of the money we raise.

"Our website donation page www.aloveforlife.us goes directly to Penn and is 100 percent tax deductible," adds Edmonds. "We have been alarmed at the recent sweeping funding cuts to our researchers, so we are redoubling our efforts for 2025. We usually head down to Penn in November for pancreatic cancer awareness month to present our fundraising monies, but we are actually going early so we can keep at least some of our research team in place. "

For more information on our local historic hardware store click here. To donate to A Love for Life Runs The Holy Half, click here.