3rd Annual Run 4 Randy

On February 22, 2004, a nine year old boy from our community, Randy Palya, passed away from an inoperable brain stem tumor. This young man was involved in many activities in the McHenry County area. One of his favorite activities was soccer. He played in the MASF soccer league for 4 years, and when he was no longer able to play, he still came to the games with his family to cheer on his teammates

Randy’s strength, faith, courage and spirit inspired the MASF to create a soccer scholarship in his memory. Since this scholarship was established, several deserving children have been given the opportunity to participate in soccer, which they otherwise would not have had.

We would like to be able to continue to provide this wonderful opportunity for these children, as well as support various charities including; the Richmond/Spring Grove food pantry, Home of the Sparrow (McHenry), the Make-A-Wish Foundation and more. For the past three years, a very special event has been held in celebration of Randy Palya’s life. The event is called the “Run for Randy”. It is a fun 3 mile run/walk in Spring Grove (please visit www.townadvertiser.com/run4randy for more information). In 2004 approximately 125 people participated, and in 2005 the number grew to about 375 runners and walkers. Then, in 2006 we had well over 500 participants! It’s so exciting and heartwarming to see the growth of this meaningful event.

To learn more about Run 4 Randy please visit http://www.townadvertiser.com/run4randy/sponsor.htm