ROARING SUCCESS

More than 400 attend RSVP’s 12th annual Run Wild 5K and 1 Mile Animal Safari Walk held at the Elmwood Park Zoo

NORRISTOWN » On Sunday, more than 400 attendees came out to participate in RSVP’s 12th annual Run Wild 5K and 1 Mile Animal Safari Walk held at the Elmwood Park Zoo benefiting RSVP’s children’s programs.

This family-friendly event, combined with a USAT&F certified course and state-of-the-art chip timing for the runners, allowed participants to enjoy free zoo admission and provided something for every family member.

All race day proceeds benefit RSVP’s children’s programs reaching 6,346 children and their families throughout our area by providing new gift books six times each year to 669 Head Start preschool students and read-aloud workshops for their parents; supporting 100+ reading tutors who assist more than 1,900+ elementary school children; several classrooms of local students bridge the generation gap and communicate with corporate pen pals to revive the art of letter writing; 1,100+ disadvantaged students receive individualized virtual math tutoring and interactive STEM career presentations to advance learning, 40+ at-risk students are matched with long-term dedicated mentors; volunteer tutors reach 1,000 youth as they support classroom teachers, work as aids and presenters at museums, judge science fairs and help juvenile offenders through a youth aid panel.

Overall fastest male runner was Derek Reinhold of North Wales with a time of 17:58. Fastest female was Whitney Belmonte of North Wales with a

time of 20:42. Age-categories enabled participants as young as one and as old as 81 to compete among their peers and receive medals and recognition for their efforts. Multi-generational families and several corporate teams, including Citadel and Global Packaging raced, walked, visited with zoo animals and enjoyed a great day together.

RSVP would like to thank and recognize our Corporate Sponsors: Diamond: Citadel; Platinum: Peoples Security; Silver: Bryn Mawr Trust, KicksUSA, UBS and Whole Foods; Bronze: AXA Advisors, Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Elmwood Park Zoo, Kathleen M. Rotz Lung Cancer Research Fund, Associated Imaging Solutions, RBC Wealth Management and TagenPoint Consulting; Sponsors: The Carney Group, The Gedney Group, Stradley Ronon and Stephano Slack, LLC; In-Kind Sponsors and Donors: Starbucks of Plymouth Meeting, Whole Foods Markets, Norris Sales Company and the Borough of Norristown.

And a special thank you to the many dedicated volunteers, including RSVP board members and students from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School who helped to make this a memorable and fun event.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Medal winners: Age-categories enabled 5K participants as young as 1 and as old as 80 to compete among their peers and receive recognition for their efforts.

SUBMITTED PHOTO RSVP’s Run Wild Male Overall winner Derek Reinhold of North Wales, seen here with his children and Michele Moll, RSVP Executive Director, won with a time of 17:58.

SUBMITTED PHOTO RSVP’s Run Wild 5K Female Overall winner Whitney Belmonte of North Wales, seen here with Michele Moll, RSVP Executive Director, clocked a time of 20:42.