Halfway Cafe to sponsor 5K fundraiser

In an effort to raise as much money as possible for a very worthy cause, the Halfway Cafe — a popular local restaurant chain with a location at Cobb’s Corner in Canton — has decided to go all out with its first ever “Halfway 5K” road race, scheduled for Sunday, June 10, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The inaugural event, which will benefit the local charity Cops for Kids with Cancer, is being billed as a fun-for-all-ages extravaganza, featuring an assortment of giveaways and culminating with a big after party outside the Halfway Cafe.

“This is our first race and we want to come out of the gate strong and make a great impression,” said race organizer Bob Ward, who conceived the idea with Halfway owner John Grasso. “We want this to be an event that makes the town of Canton proud and attracts people from all over.”

The race itself, which has been certified by USA Track and Field, will start and end at the Village Shoppes, with runners traveling down Washington Street to Dunbar, Messenger and Bailey streets before turning around at the Canton Town Club and heading back along the same route.

Ward, who handles all of the marketing and advertising for the Halfway Cafe, said there will be a “surprise” for all runners and walkers at the “halfway” point of the race. Afterwards, participants will be treated to food and drinks, free massages, and live performances by two local bands: Sultans of Sax, a seven-piece saxophone choir, and Slider, a classic rock cover band.

“The day will be filled with fun events for the whole family,” said Ward, who noted that the first 250 to register will also receive a free T-shirt and a “swag bag filled with goodies.”

One of the race’s major sponsors, Samuel Adams, will also be on hand to distribute free merchandise, including baseball hats, bottle openers and glasses. Other notable sponsors include Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, Food Should Taste Good, Kettle Cuisine, Crescent Ridge Dairy, Shaw’s Supermarkets, and Hint Water.

As for the Halfway Cafe’s choice of a charity, Ward credited the Canton Police Department, notably Police Chief Ken Berkowitz and Lieutenant Helena Findlen, for recommending Cops for Kids with Cancer, which distributes financial grants to the families of young cancer patients in the greater Boston area — with no strings attached.

“When we met with Chief Berkowitz and Lt. Findlen to suggest our plan for the road race and discuss logistics, they asked if we had a charity in mind yet, and we didn’t,” explained Ward. “We learned that Lt. Findlen was the president of CFKWC and of the great work that this strictly volunteer charity provides to local families in the community in the most difficult time of their lives. It was a no brainer.”

Findlen, needless to say, was “thrilled” with the offer of support from the Halfway Cafe, which she described as “awesome partners in the community” and the kind of business that has a “great reputation from a policing point of view.”

“I’m honored that they’ve decided to do this,” she said. “I wish [Cops for Kids with Cancer] didn’t have to exist, but I’m excited to be partnering with the Halfway Cafe as a charity and I hope this will be the first of many road races.”

Findlen noted that the Halfway’s Canton location had previously donated the proceeds from its annual party and charity auction to CFKWC, handing her a check for nearly $2,000 back in 2010. And many of the grants have, in turn, gone to families from the same communities that the Halfway Cafe serves — including at least one family in Canton, according to Findlen.

In most cases, the families are referred to the organization by a police officer in their community, and after a vetting process, they are given a one-time grant of $5,000 that could go toward any number of expenses — from a mortgage payment, to a family vacation, to travel and parking costs for the countless trips to the hospital.

Having been involved with the organization for the past seven years, Findlen said she has no immediate plans to step down as president and would like to see Cops for Kids with Cancer become to police what the Muscular Dystrophy Association is to firefighters — a nationwide effort that, coincidentally, began in Boston more than 50 years ago.

“The police have a motto: to protect and to serve,” said Findlen. “And this is that serve element to me — serving the community, giving back, and just putting the police on the map in a way that maybe we’re not always thought of.”

The good news, she said, is that the charity has been growing steadily over the past decade — the website now lists nearly 50 “law enforcement friends,” including over 30 area police departments — and the fundraising has also multiplied, thanks to various supporters such as the Halfway Cafe.

In fact, since 1990, the Halfway has donated over $345,000 to numerous local charities, including food pantries and homeless shelters, and they are looking forward to adding to that total with several upcoming events, including the company’s annual golf tournament in September to benefit the Jimmy Fund.

As for the Halfway’s inaugural 5K road race, Ward said the reaction from the Canton community has been “remarkable” thus far, and already organizers are talking about making the race into an annual spring tradition. In the meantime, Ward encouraged all of those who have not yet signed up to do so by going to the official race website at www.halfway5k.com.

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 17 2012. Filed under Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.