Heaven Can Wait 5K Walk/Run

By Marlys Johnson

In case you’ve wondered, the pink commotion in Drake Park first Sunday in June for the past thirteen years has been the Heaven Can Wait 5K walk/run for breast cancer. Check out these incredible numbers:

• 14^th annual 5K walk/run – June 2, 2013
• 33,882 participants over the past 13 years (for you math geeks, that’s an average of 2,606.3 participants per year)
• $902,815 raised to date, which means this is the year we need your help to reach the million dollar mark!

A little history

Bend resident and breast cancer survivor Charlene Levesque enlisted the help of her husband, Joe; the Central OregonRunning Klub; and Peggy Carey, Director of St. Charles Cancer Center. Together, they determined the look and feel of the first Heaven Can Wait event back in 2000 … and the rest is history.

Follow the money

Heaven Can Wait benefits Sara’s Project of the St. Charles Cancer Center. Proceeds fund breast cancer awareness and education, and help support breast cancer research. Through Sara’s Project, central and eastern Oregon breast cancer patients also can receive one-on-one peer support, assistance with non-medical living expenses and a Nurse Navigator to help them navigate the complexities of the medical system.

If you missed the First Friday Heaven Can Wait Kick-Off event at Foot Zone, head on over to www.heavencanwait.org and click on “Registration” to sign up for this fabulously fun walk/run. Also, for those of you interested in volunteering, check out the online volunteer site at the HCW web page.

A local event … founded by a local breast cancer survivor … raising funds to support local breast cancer patients – how cool is that?!