300 Compete in Fourth Annual Teddy Bear 5K & 1K Walk/Run

From Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center:

FALLS CHURCH, VA – More than 300 runners and walkers of all ages turned out for the Fourth Annual Teddy Bear 5K & 1K Walk/Run on Sunday, September 25, to raise attention to the need for Early Childhood Education for children who are at-risk and to benefit the Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center, a nonprofit, early childhood education program where children from low-income, working families have been building their skills to be ready for kindergarten for nearly 50 year.

All 5K and 1K runners and walkers received a teddy bear as they crossed the finish line. The event raised $34,000 for the Children’s Center’s 2016-17 Annual Fund. While their parents work, 75 children ages 2 thru 5, build their language, cognitive, physical, and social-emotional skills through the Center’s bilingual curriculum to avoid a learning gap that research shows expands with each successive year as children miss important lessons.

Winning runners included: Children in Division 6-8 years: Chaira Mizzo and Kaida Mizzo, both age 7, McLean, both at 33:48, and Salar Nasimov, 6, Fairfax, 34:01; Division 9-10 years: Alan Pineda, 10, Falls Church, 33:50, and Ava Jones, 10, Arlington, 37:23; Division 11-12 years: Matt Knook, 11, McLean, at 31:40, and Zoe Perkins, 11, Vienna, 35:36; Division 13-14 years: no entries; Division 15-17 years: Ginny Brough, 16, McLean, 26:16;

Adult Division 19-29 years: Karen Armandi, 29, Falls Church, 29:14, and Jason Yang, 28, McLean, 37:12; Division 30-39 years: Julie Rice , 33, McLean, 26:49; Kolby Dehart, 30, Falls Church, 28:33; Jeremy Prior, 31, Washington, D.C., 21:37; Division 40-49 years: Bib# 417 Female, 40, 20:36; Kristen Verderame, 48, McLean, 24:47, and Christopher Booth, 44, Falls Church, 21:10, and Ronald Schmidt, 47, Falls Church, 26:51; Division 50-59 years: Traci Goodwin, 53, Woodbridge, 32:22, Beth Monarch, 58, Manassas, 33:58, and Ted Poulos, 54, McLean, 24:30, and John Brough, 52, McLean, 26:16; Division 60-69 years: Marcy Mayhugh, 60, 23:37, and Gertrude Bojo, 60, Vienna, 35:00, Jay Jacob Wind, 66, Arlington, 26:06, Jan Bojo, 62, Vienna, 27:04; Division 70-79 years: Abolfaz Iman, 70, Fairfax, 1:10:08. Photos and details are at www.fcmlcc.org.

Several donors and businesses generously sponsored the event including: EKKO Title, Ric and Jean Edelman, Capitol Financial Consultants, New Editions Consulting, Kathleen Woodward, Burke & Herbert Bank, Chain Bridge Bank, Falls Church Pediatric Dental Center, Good Food Company, Hyphen Group, Drs. Love and Miller, Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, Net ESolutions, Powell Piper Radomsky, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and State Farm Insurance Agent Lynn Heinrichs.

The Children’s Center thanks many other businesses that generously donated prizes for runners

and refreshments and the more than 50 volunteers who assisted with the race and children’s fair.

Founded in 1968, the Children’s Center is dedicated to providing a comprehensive,

high-quality early education to give all children, regardless of their family’s financial

resources, a strong foundation on which to build the rest of their lives.

For program information, call 703-534-4907.

Images via Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center.