PLYMOUTH, Mich. – It is an annual event that usually brings thousands of runners and walkers to the Plymouth-Canton Education Park the first Sunday in May. However, this year, everyone will be running as one from afar.
The Super Jess 5K, now referred to as the SJ5K, the event has been held every year since to benefit other families in the Plymouth Canton community. It began in 2011 after P-CEP student Jesse Lindlbauer experienced a life-altering brain injury.
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The SJ5K is organized by high school seniors with an adult board overseeing the project. The students spend all year planning and preparing for the race.
“Since the first race, the SJ5K has raised over half a million dollars for 40 Plymouth-Canton families going through a medical crisis,” according to the SJ5K website.
With the coronavirus pandemic, the organizers have decided to take the event virtual to be able to continue to help the five families money is being raised for this year. Participants who sign up will pledge to run, walk or bike the 5K sometime between Sunday May 3rd and Sunday May 10th.
A digital ceremony will kick-off the virtual event on Sunday May 3rd at 8 a.m. You can listen to it live on 88.1 The Park or click here.
This year, the SJ5K will support five families in the Plymouth-Canton community:
The Szmansky family. Layana Szmansky, 2, who was diagnosed with vocal cord paralysis as well as hypotonic cerebral palsy shortly after birth. Layana is in Pymouth-Canton’s Early On Special Education Program.
The Suszkiewicz family. Jonathan Suszkiewicz, who attends Plymouth High School. He was born with spina bifida.
The Gorski family. Greg Gorski, who has three children in the Plymouth Canton community. He has cirrhosis, a type of liver cancer.
The Rosowski family. Mikey, 5, attends Field Elementary. He has Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), which causes blood vessels in the body to become inflamed and start to leak affecting his kidney, joints and digestive tract. His mother, Rachel, a stage-four pancreatic cancer survivor, died after suffering a pulmonary embolism earlier this year.
The Millleville Family. Last year, Greg Milleville suffered a heart attack while on a job. He was alone for several minutes before being discovered. He suffered an anoxic brain injury and is in a skilled nursing facility. He requires a lot of therapy.The family has battled the insurance company to get him his needed therapy and now looking at other options.
If you would like to participate, you can still sign up here.