In 2011, the non-profit organization Build Jake’s Place constructed a playground in Cherry Hill to allow children with physical disabilities and special needs to play with their peers.
Three years later, the organization is starting a fundraising run and walk aiming to do exactly the same thing.
The inaugural JakesRun4Play run and walk will take place at the Jake’s Place Boundless Playground off Brace and Old Bortons Mill roads on Saturday, Sept. 27 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Jim Cummings, one of the founders of Build Jake’s Place, said the event will be open to all participants, including those in wheelchairs and other assistance devices. He said bringing people with disabilities together with other community members has always been the mission of the organization.
Cummings founded Build Jake’s Place after the death of his grandson, Jake, in 2007 from a rare heart condition. Cummings was inspired to build the original playground to allow children with any disability or special needs to play with their peers. The original playground opened at Cherry Hill’s Challenge Grove Park in 2011, and the organization recently announced it will open a second playground in Delran in the near future.
The need to finance the new playground had the organization looking at new fundraising opportunities.
“We constantly are looking at our fundraising strategies,” Cummings said. “We have the new playground we’re going to work on, so one of our board members felt very strongly that we should start a run.”
Cummings said the original Cherry Hill playground cost about $600,000. While he expects the Delran and Burlington County community will help make the new playground a reality, Build Jake’s Place realized the need to step up its fundraising effort.
“We do fundraising all year long,” Cummings said. “We’re stepping that up and adding new events and other opportunities that we’d have.”
The event is more than just a fundraiser, however. The organization is hoping to have a wide range of participants. Cummings said anyone can participate in either the run or the walk.
Build Jake’s Place also raises money for a number of programs at the Cherry Hill playground. One of these is the Camden County NJ Miracle League, a baseball league where children with special needs get a chance to play once a week at the park’s Boundless Field. The organization also helps fund Ravitz Rides, where children from area schools are transported to Jake’s Place on Tuesdays in October to have fun at the playground.
Without fundraising events, Cummings said these programs wouldn’t exist.
“We needed the monies to run all of our programs,” he said.
The organization is working on gathering sponsors from Cherry Hill and the surrounding communities. Road Runner Sports will be the location for runners to pick up their race packets the day before the event. Cummings said other businesses have also expressed interest in getting involved.
“We’re waiting to hear back from a major sponsor right now, and we have a couple smaller ones that have already come in,” he said.
The 5K course has already been approved and will take runners out of Challenge Grove Park and down Park Boulevard in Cherry Hill before wrapping back around to the park.
A one-mile walk course has also been drawn up, with participants wrapping around Challenge Grove Park and down adjacent Caldwell Road.
Runners and walkers can register for the event atwww.buildjakesplace.org. Individuals can register for $30 to run and $20 to walk. Teams of five or more can sign up to run at a reduced price of $25 each. All proceeds will go to Build Jake’s Place.
