Attention, super heroes big and small: The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum needs your help! Lace up your running shoes, put on your best mask or cape, and zip over on Sept. 28 to the first-ever Super Hero 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Family Walk to help support the Discovery Museum and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Of course, only the most powerful of caped crusaders could raise money for two important causes at the same time, but we know our local heroes are up to the challenge! These generous donations will help pay for the museum’s operating costs and help find a cure for diabetes.
“As the mother of a young child with Type 1 diabetes, I know all too well the challenges and heartache that come with this life-threatening illness on a daily, or even hourly, basis,” said Sun food and wine writer Wendy Thies Sell, who is emceeing the event. “While there have been strides in technology that help our daughter manage her disease, there still is no cure for Type 1 diabetes. We are grateful for members of our community who are willing to walk with us on this difficult journey, and help us raise awareness and important funds.”
Join us back in the museum parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Fit for Fun Health Fair, where there will be food, games, demonstrations by local fitness professionals, and information about how to stay healthy.
Families wanting to test their super-hero abilities can sign up for the race at active.com and then visit team.jdrf.org/events/ and browse for “Super Hero Fun” to form a fundraising team for JDRF with your friends and family.
Those who are too busy saving the world to come to the event can still be super heroes by making “virtual runner” donations at fundraising.active.com and nominating their real-life personal super heroes by sending descriptions of 50 words or fewer to amy@smvdiscoverymuseum.org or messaging the museum on Facebook at facebook.com/smvdiscoverymuseum.
And don’t forget to come to the museum to buy your tickets for our super-cool raffle, featuring such prizes as a child’s birthday party at the museum, a family membership to the museum, GO ARMY swag, and more!
The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum is at 705 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria. We are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Amy Asman Blasco, program director for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, wrote this week’s Discovery Corner, a weekly column in the Sun highlighting events, science activities, and more. Send comments to discoverycorner@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2014.