Partlow Insurance sponsors the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk

Miles for Matheny, our annual fundraiser and community event, attracts about 1,500 people to downtown Peapack, NJ, to join in as walking partners in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, run in the 5K Road Race, ride in one of five cycling routes, race in the Kids Fun Run or cheer on the wheelchair participants.

All funds raised at Miles support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, where more than 800 of New Jersey’s children, teens and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities have access to the best medical, dental and therapy care possible.

You can help support this fundraising effort by being a Miles for Matheny sponsor. Sponsorship levels vary from a Premier Sponsorship at $25,000 to a Supporting Sponsorship at $500. For more information, contact Janice Kriegman at jkriegman@matheny.org, or call her at (908) 234-0011, ext. 315.

Major sponsors for this year’s Miles for Matheny include the Poses Family Foundation, Partlow Insurance, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC Attorneys at Law, BP Fueling Communities, Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc., WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

WCBS-TV’s Alex Denis was the official starter for both the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk and the 5K last year.

Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, 2013.

Online registration for the 17th annual Miles for Matheny began on March 11. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, June 1, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. Activities include:

• The Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk where friends and family members walk alongside more than 100 Matheny children and adults who “wheel” through the streets of downtown Peapack to the cheers of community members and other supporters.

• 5K Road Race through the beautiful Somerset Hills on town and rural roads.

• Five Cycling Routes winding through the picturesque countryside.

• Kids Fun Run for children, ages 3-10.

• “Breakfast of Champions,” provided by The Friends of Matheny.

All money raised at Miles for Matheny will benefit the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities living in communities throughout New Jersey.

For more information, to register or start a fundraising page, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

5K Run, 2013.

Adult patient Jessica Evans and walking partner.

Named after the late Lu Huggins, a co-founder of Miles for Matheny, the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk is a 1.5 mile walk through downtown Peapack, NJ. Members of the community are invited to walk with Matheny students and patients in an event that is truly a celebration of the abilities of those who are physically challenged. Our students and patients look forward to this walk every year, as Miles is “their” day. Join us for what we promise will be a very rewarding experience on Sunday, April 21.

This year, Partlow Insurance Agency will be the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk Sponsor at Miles for Matheny. Partlow, headquartered in Winchester, VA, is recognized nationally as the leader in insuring nonprofit social service and special education institutions.

Other activities at Miles for Matheny include a USATF-certified 5K Road Race, five different Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny “Breakfast of Champions” followed by luncheon refreshments in Liberty Park. All funds raised at Miles will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

Other major sponsors are: Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Adult patient Chris Saglimbene with the NJ Devils mascot.

5K and Kids Fun Run runners love to finish their race and cheer on the wheelchair participants as they approach the finish line.

A great way to raise money for Miles for Matheny, our annual fundraiser and community event, is to create a personal webpage on the Miles for Matheny website. You can upload photos of you and your teammates, set fundraising and training goals and send emails to friends and family asking them to support your efforts.

Plus, you can send updates, which serve as gentle reminders, as the event day gets closer. And, once the event is over, you can continue to fundraise by sending photos and notes to let people know how you did as a runner, cyclist or walking partner.

Miles is being held Sunday, April 21, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. The signature activity is the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. There’s also a USATF-NJ sanctioned 5K race, five different Cycling routes and a Kids Fun Run. All money raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

To get more information and to find out how you can be part of this uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

From left, Courtney Smith, Reagan Thomson and Jordan Smith of Bedminster and Jamie Moschetto of Peapack in the gym with adult patient Rasheedah Mahali.

“I’ve been there in years past when it was rainy, and there’s almost a camaraderie in being able to brave those elements.” That comment by WCBS-TV news anchor Don Dahler on his Saturday morning newscast the day before Miles for Matheny would prove to be prophetic. It did rain on Sunday, April 22, but, as Bedminster, NJ, resident Trish Mannion pointed out, “The whole community came out and supported this wonderful cause. Thank you for letting our family be part of such a wonderful day!”

And thanks to Peapack-Gladstone for inviting Matheny to use the gymnasium in the municipal building as a gathering place for all the wheelchair participants, who, otherwise, would have had to be outside. In fact, there was a party atmosphere in the gym as volunteers, Matheny staff members and families joined the Matheny students and patients to wait for the start of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.