Community Raises over $600,000 for Cancer Patients

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Two Thousand attend in-person Walk for Wellness House – Welcome Home!

By HM Staff

The annual Walk for Wellness House 3k walk/5k run, held on Sunday, May 1, 2022, brought cancer survivors, families, friends, and volunteers together and in-person for the first time in two years at the main location in Hinsdale, Chicagoland and beyond. The Walk represented a homecoming for Wellness House participants who are returning for in person programs; for the community that hasn’t celebrated together in two years; and for staff and Board welcoming everyone back! The unity of a caring community passionate about the Wellness House mission made this year’s Walk a smashing success – raising more than $620,000! The Walk was made possible by Presenting Sponsor, The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, and the more than 30 corporate sponsors and supporters that so generously partnered with them this year. Proceeds from the Walk are used to provide Wellness House programs for people living with cancer, at no cost to them and accessible from anywhere.

Participant Valerie Traynham

There were more than 1800 people in attendance at the Walk in Hinsdale, and more than 200 walkers that participated at locations of their own choosing at Mile Square Health Center in Chicago’s Medical District and other locations where participants could walk their way. Special thanks to Gina Pongetti Angeletti and Molly Haunty who co-chaired this year’s Walk with passion and enthusiasm, and to THE CROWN ROYALS TEAM that broke their own record with more than 100 team members and $122,000! This team initially met within a Wellness House support group and grew larger and more impactful each year. The achievement of each one of the 130 teams and 2000 Walk participants provided a meaningful and critical impact on the mission of Wellness House, a nonprofit that envisions a community where all people affected by cancer thrive.

THE CROWN ROYALS TEAM broke their own record with more than 100 team members and $122,000!

Over 32 years ago, a group of people came together because they saw, firsthand, the impact of cancer on their family and friends. Out of concern and determination, Wellness House was born to lighten cancer’s burden through programs that prepare and empower people to fully live life with cancer and beyond. Wellness House uses a psycho-social approach based on research, addressing the whole person – socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and psychologically. Since opening their doors in 1990, 44,000 people have been impacted by Wellness House. Offered at no cost, and as a complement to medical treatment, their programs educate and support participants so they will improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. For more information, visit www.wellnesshouse.org

*Photos by Marcello Rodarte

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Owen turned 4 in June and recently received an award from the Clarendon Hills Public Library for having had 1,000 books read to him before starting kindergarten.

The library’s 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge is one of a few reading challenge programs offered in Clarendon Hills, where the Bailey family has lived for the past 2 1/2 years.
Kristin Bailey said she saw an ad about the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge and decided it was a good fit for Owen.

“He’s always been really into books,” Bailey said. “He had a natural interest in books at nine months old. That’s when COVID started, and he didn’t get out much, so reading books to him worked out very well. He’s a naturally curious kid, and imagination-building is important. The reading allows him to learn and explore new things, and he really wants to learn to read now.”

Krista Devlin, the Clarendon Hills library’s youth services librarian, said there’s a specific reason The Friends of the Library-sponsored 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge was started in 2022.

“Reading aloud to a child is one of the best ways to help develop important early literacy skills, which will prepare them for kindergarten,” Devlin said. “It is also a great way to bond with your child and to encourage a love of reading.”

Devlin said Owen was the second child to reach the challenge of having 1,000 books read to him before starting kindergarten. He was awarded a certificate, a crown, and his picture was taken to recognize his accomplishment.

Bailey, who said she is “a big reader,” said her family usually goes to the library once a week. Reading three books each night to Owen, along with a book before nap time, is the household normal.

“Consistency in our routine has been good and is important,” she said, adding that Owen’s two sisters, ages 2 1/2 and 1

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