Despite a rainy Aventura morning, the 1st annual Ellis Army Dirty Socks 5K Run and Walkathon brought out over 250 people.
Chairs Cindy and Scott Orlinsky, devoted supporters of Ellie’s Army Foundation, led a team to organize the race, children’s activities, food trucks and a raffle.
DJ Kaisa from Fit Shop, Aventura rocked the event while Lisa Petrillo from CBS4 News served as emcee. Through the generous support of sponsors including FMS Bonds, Lennar, Warren Henry and SunTrust, runners and volunteers raised over $27,000 for children and young adults battling life-threatening illnesses. Funds raised by Ellie’s Army Foundation will cover uninsured medical costs and/or living expenses such as mortgages and electric bills to ease the financial stress on families of critically-ill children.
The “Dirty Socks” event, was named in memory of Ellie Levy, who fought a brave battle against cystic fibrosis. Stacey and Brian Levy’s daughter was born with the disease and fought it valiantly until it took her life during her first year of college. During her many hospital visits, Ellie’s doctors told her that she needed to walk, walk and walk some more to help clear her lungs …they wanted to ‘see the dirty socks’…and that’s exactly what Ellie did, inspiring hundreds of children and adults with her zest for life and ‘giving back’.
For more information, call Stacey Levy at 305.756.0068 or visit ElliesArmy.org
