$25K raised at annual Jingle Bell for Arthritis

KANAKKEE — It had been a cold, blustery week.

But it warmed up over the weekend. And at 9 a.m. Sunday morning, the sun came out, the sky was blue and the thermometer climbed to 41 degrees.

That was good news for the 34th annual Jingle Bell Run and Walk. Some 289 runners and walkers participated at Kankakee Community College. It was the ninth year the event has been held at KCC. There were also some Jingle in the Water swimmers at the Kankakee Area YMCA.

The event raised at least $25,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. The 5K race is the sole Kankakee County fundraiser for arthritis. Complete fundraising results and totals will be updated at jbr.org/Kankakee.

It was the best turnout for the event in the post-COVID era. The race was only virtual in the COVID year of 2020 when group gatherings of all kinds were discouraged.

Jessica Bearak, executive director of the Arthritis Foundation in Illinois, thanked all the participants and sponsors.

“This is always a great holiday event,” she said. “It puts a smile on your face to see so many people in costume and holiday gear, and all for a good cause.”

The overall race winners for men and women were Brayden Domont for the men and Klarke Goranson for the women. Goranson is a freshman at Manteno High School, where she runs cross country. Domont runs track at the Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center. He rolled to a handstand as he crossed the finish line. Domont finished in 17 minutes, 6 tenths of a second. Goranson was across the line in 18:50. David Spencer and Maryellen Williams were the fastest man and woman in the walking event.

Complete race results are online at Itsracetime.com.

Dr. Majd Tarabichi of OAK Orthopedics was the medial honoree. He deals with arthritis daily in his practice.

He told the participants that were doing the right thing by exercising.

“The risks of exercising are far less than the risks of being sedentary,” he said.

Donated prizes went to the top ten fundraising individuals, and the top 10 fundraising teams. The top three individuals were Avry Gray, Debra Caise and Barbara Mozer. The top three teams were Santa’s Healers, the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department and Blitzen for Ben.

An assembly of elves from New Lenox won the group costume contest. Ayden Meyer was the youth with the best costume. Marylou Servin had the best adult costume. Jeremy Szepelak had a green and whiter number that was the Christmas sweater by acclamation.

OAK Orthopedics, a Division of Illinois Bone & Joint Institute, was this year’s platinum sponsor. Riverside Orthopedics was the silver sponsor. The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department and A.N. Webber Inc. were bronze sponsors. CSL Behring and Kankakee Nursery were supporting sponsors.

Donated refreshments are always welcome on a winter morning. Chicago Dough has provided pizza for runners for more than three decades. There is also hot soup provided by the Bennett-Curtis House; hot chocolate from Oberweis; Gatorade from Pepsi; bananas from Jewel and water from Culligan.

In-kind help was also provided by the Kankakee Fire Department, the Kankakee River Running Club and the Marine Corps League and Kankakee Community College for serving as the host.

Each year the race is organized by a small corps of dedicated volunteers, including: Debbie Caise; Darlene Cipcich; Deb and Gerry Morgan and Alicia Parkinson. Parkinson collects prizes from local merchants that go to top fundraisers and other contest winners.

Student volunteers from Manteno, Kankakee, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Bishop McNamara and Grant Park high schools help man the course, with cash awards going to the schools that bring the most help.

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