Backpacks bring cheer to patients
Satchels filled with school supplies handed out at pediatrics ward
SAN JOSE — Kids being treated at Valley Medical Center got a surprise pick-me-up Thursday when a local shoe shop and sheriff’s deputies teamed up to hand out backpacks filled to the brim with school supplies through the halls of the pediatrics ward.
The gesture was one of an array of recurring efforts leading up to the Nov. 5 “Heroes Run” that raises funds for upgrades to the children’s wing. The annual event, hosted in Cupertino, is now in its fourth year and boosters say it has raised nearly $100,000 for the cause.
“There is not one person who doesn’t have a soft spot in their heart for these kids,” said Santa Clara County sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Jones, one of the architects of the Heroes Run.
In its fourth incarnation, the run will gain new partners in the Santa Clara County Fire Department and the corresponding Firefighters Local 1165, joining the Sheriff’s Office and VMC Foundation, the hospital support nonprofit.
Esther Mendez, 20, of San Jose, looked on as her younger brother, 9-yearold Anthony Randolph, watched the deputies enter his hospital room with the new gear.
“I think it’s really nice, especially for the kids going through the things they’re going through,” Mendez said.
For this giveaway, a community business, San Jose-based Kickz, stepped up Thursday to provide about two dozen custom backpacks and pledge its support for the charity run, which features a 5K run, a kids run and an obstacle course that pits deputies against firefighters in friendly competition.
And as it has been from the start, children and adults participating in the run are encouraged to wear costumes, partly why it’s always held just after Halloween, before all the outfits get mothballed.
Daniel Ryan, 32, owner of Kickz, said the giveaway experience made him grateful for his son’s health and inspires him to cheer up those being treated at VMC.
“It’s touching to see these kids smile, even if it’s with just a backpack,” Ryan said.
During the brisk tour Thursday, the fruits of past Heroes Runs were evident in the pediatric ward, in- cluding the flat-screen TVs, adaptive toys and books in the playroom. The playroom itself is the target for the next set of upgrades.
Julie Ott, director of events for the VMC Foundation, said the fundraiser will also expand its scope to other children’s health service offerings in the county, such as its farreaching clinics to health care programs for homeless families.
“Now, it’s not just for pediatrics, but for all of our services,” Ott said.
More information about the Heroes Run can be found at heroesrunscc.com.