Jingle Bell Run to Raise Funds for the Arthritis Foundation
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Three-year old Phoebe Nappi loves Panda bears, the color green and going to the zoo.
When Phoebe was 19 months old, she was diagnosed with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), an autoimmune illness where the immune system attacks the joints instead of attacking germs.
According to the American College of Rheumatology, between 40,000 and 100,000 children in the United States have JIA at any given time.
Despite the difficult challenges, Phoebe swims and engages in many other activities.
This Saturday, Dec. 7, she will be a youth honoree at the local 2024 Jingle Bell Run held by the Arthritis Foundation, which takes place at Manhattanville College in Purchase. The presenting sponsor is Northwell Orthopedics/Northern Westchester Hospital.
The event was started by the Arthritis Foundation 40 years ago, and has been taking place in Westchester for the last 15 years.
“The Jingle Bell Run is a big deal,” said Nancy Sorbella, the Westchester director and event manager for the local Arthritis Foundation chapter.
Sorbella volunteered to work with the organization about 12 years ago.
“I came to the Jingle Bell Run because it looked like a fun event and because I do have arthritis, but it’s not debilitating,” she said.
Sorbella said participating in the 5K are teams comprised of friends, families, corporate groups and individuals. All have received donations to run for the Arthritis Foundation.
“It’s a great day. Some participants are serious runners, some have no connection to the mission, while others have a connection because a family member or friend has arthritis,” Sorbella explained. “With six million people in this country suffering from arthritis, it’s hard not to have a connection.”
The Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run raises millions of dollars annually across the country. Funds go toward research, finding new treatments and cures for arthritis, a disease considered to be the nation’s leading cause of disability.
Christopher Anderson, head of Business Strategy at Northwell Orthopedics – Western Region, said this is the first year there’s a presenting sponsor for the Jingle Bell Run in Westchester. There has been a partnership with the Arthritis Foundation by sponsoring the run on Long Island for over a decade.
“The reason we are sponsoring the Westchester run this year is because we have finally opened a new orthopedic group in Tarrytown,” Anderson said. “This is a great chance to raise awareness about the group as well as continue our efforts with the Arthritis Foundation.”
Northwell Orthopedics at Tarrytown has affiliations with Phelps and Northern Westchester hospitals.
The Jingle Bell Run also offers valuable connections between patients, their families and the medical community.
“There’s a mission area at the Jingle Bell Run where people with arthritis can meet up and connect and share information,” Sorbella said. “We want people to feel included and there’s something for everyone.”
The 5K begins outside Reed Castle on the Manhattanville campus. There will also be a kid’s run, a Legoland master builder, music, entertainment, a dance party, prizes and raffles and a canine contest for dressed up dogs called Waggers Welcome.
The goal of the Arthritis Foundation’s Westchester chapter is to raise $105,000, according to Sorbella. Two weeks before the event she said there was $75,000 donated, with 336 participants and 20 teams already registered.
“We usually have about 400-plus participants at the event with many registering two weeks before the event,” Sorbella said.
The event’s medical honoree is Somers Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Group and the adult honoree is Amy Kelly, a teacher at White Plains Middle School who struggles with rheumatoid arthritis. Sorbella said Kelly will be bringing more than 100 students to participate in the run.
Also, Iris Kahn and Shirley Wong, known as “The Moms,” are this year’s Community Champion honorees.
All participants will receive a Jingle Bell Run long-sleeve shirt and a medal. Additional items will be awarded based on fundraising benchmarks.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. Fundraising and the costume contest is at 10:15 a.m. while the start of the race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The one-mile Fun Run starts at 11:15 a.m. followed by the awards presentation.
Manhattanville University is located at 2900 Purchase St. in Purchase. For more information about the Jingle Bell Run and the Arthritis Foundation, visit https://www.arthritis.org/events/jbr.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/