Annual charity event raises money to find gentler childhood cancer treatments and to help local families

Drum Line entertaining runners as they cross the finish line at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

The I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc. Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert featuring the Joey Gilmore Band was held on February 29, 2020 on the campus of Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.

Police officers Symone Bullard (BSO), Deanna Schwab (Sunrise), Jhonny Jimenez (Sunrise), Kelly Simmons (Sunrise), Stephanie Roach (Hollywood), Edamara Fisher (Hollywood) running for a great cause at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

The annual event attracted over 1,100 people for a great cause. This was I Care I Cure’s largest attendance in the 13 years the event has been held.

Runners at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

The event had something for everyone. From a 5k timed race around the campus to a family-friendly color run to food trucks, a blues concert and games, all attendees had a wonderful time.

Freedom the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Therapy Dog greeting attendees at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

Cancer survivor Nathalie Rodriguez from radio station WIOD emceed this year’s event while instructors from the Miramar location of Orangetheory Fitness warmed up the 5k participants. After racers crossed the finish line, blues legend Joey Gilmore and his band took the stage to show off his musical prowess with some original songs and classic tunes. Viktor E. Rat and the ROAR Corps from the Florida Panthers and Freedom, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s new therapy dog also made appearances and posed for photos with attendees.

Runners at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

The event raised almost $100,000, which will be used to fund medical research to find less toxic childhood cancer treatments, and to help local families dealing with the challenges of raising a child with cancer.

Event sponsor TradeStation pose for a group photo with the Florida Panther’s Viktor E. Rat and the ROAR Corps

The I Care I Cure Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert is one of many fundraising events hosted by I Care I Cure each year. Other significant events include a Golf Tournament, Top Golf, Meatballs and Martinis networking events, along with many other fun events to support the cause.

Face painting was one of many activities for children and families at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

Sponsors of this year’s marquee event included: Greenspoon Marder Law, Bressler, Amery & Ross, TradeStation, TEG Foundation, The Tannenbaum Family, Hoffman’s Chocolates, Northwestern Mutual, Orangetheory Fitness, USA Employment Lawyers, Peter Mougey, Dipped with Love, Memorial Healthcare System, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Jazwares, BankUnited, Simms Law, Kapila Mukamal, Florida Panthers, Dean R. Feldman, Vicki and Steven Stolberg, the Hurowitz family, the Ezrol family, Caren and Peter Berg, Rick and Sherrie Giusto, The Samara Fund, Abby Schulman Song for a Cause, Dylan-Angel In Our Hearts, the Raphael family and the Levitin family.

Top row left to right: Ryan Lupari, Wesley Butensky, Dylan Hall, Chapin Dalton, Ryan Beckman, Jeff Peters, Matt Thomson. Bottom row left to right: Hanna Boundy, Hannah Colson, Megan Brunner, Zoe Haugen, Joan Dominguez

For more information about this event, and how to get involved or to learn more about I Care I Cure, visit https://www.icareicure.org/.

Event sponsors Caren and Peter Berg pose for a photo at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

I Care I Cure Founder Beth Besner, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and event emcee and WIOD radio host Nathalie Rodriguez pose for a photo at I Care I Cure’s 13th Annual 5k Run/Walk, Color Run, Family Fun Day and Blues Concert

About ICIC

I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc. was founded in 2007 by Beth and Brad Besner (along with friends and family) to honor their son, Ian, who was diagnosed with Leukemia in January, 2006, just one week before his 11th birthday. Ian sadly passed away 6 months after his diagnosis, not from the cancer, but from the treatments administered to cure his disease.

The group’s mission is to help fund childhood cancer research with an emphasis on cutting-edge, targeted therapies to make treatments gentler and more tolerable. I Care I Cure also funds community outreach programs, while advocating to raise public awareness about scientific breakthroughs in genetic childhood cancer research that are within reach, but seriously underfunded.