Community Corner
Sixth Annual Angel Run Promises to be a 'Special Day' for Medfield Community
This is the last year family and friends of Natasha Domeshek, an eight-year-old Medfield third grader who died suddenly in 2002, will organize the event that has become part of Medfield's annual holiday celebration.
This Sunday will mark the sixth year of the Angel Run, an annual event created in memory of a Medfield third grader, Natasha Domeshek, who died suddenly in 2002. She was eight years old.
This year's Angel Run will be held Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. at the . The family-friendly 5k and 1k run/walk takes place in December because Natasha’s birthday was this month and her favorite holiday was Christmas.
“Annie [Natasha’s mother] and I are thrilled that the Angel Run, in just five years, has become a Medfield holiday season tradition,” said David Domeshek, Natasha’s father. “I think the Angel Run is popular because it’s fun, it’s family friendly, and it’s part of a celebratory weekend in Medfield that’s full of community spirit and Christmas cheer.”
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The event is modeled after the Jingle Bell Run in Boston and organizers say the parade route – which begins and ends at the – has been transformed into a “festive wonderland complete with carolers, hot cocoa, balloons, candy canes, and other surprises along the way.”
Homeowners along the route often decorate their homes and yards and spectators come out to cheer on the runners and walkers, many of whom are dressed in holiday costume.
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The Angel Run was created by a group of Natasha’s friends as a way to remember and celebrate Natasha’s kind spirit, said Suzi Garrity, whose daughter was among those friends.
“We never anticipated the Angel Run would become such an anticipated and well-attended community event that it is,” said Garrity. “There are over 1,300 people who make the Angel Run happen every year through their involvement by running, walking, volunteering or decorating. It is their continued support and enthusiasm for creating this day where everyone gathers to celebrate the kindness of a little girl, that they may or may not have known, that makes the Angel Run such a special day for the Medfield community.”
Anyone interested in running or walking in the Angel Run can register on Sunday between 12:30 and the 2 p.m. start. The registration fee is $25 per person. A post-run celebration will be held in the Wheelock School cafeteria.
Proceeds from the Angel Run benefit the Natasha Domeshek Fund of The Medfield Foundation Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, established to anonymously fund services for families in need as well as a scholarship for the Class of 2012, which Natasha would have been a student.
“The Angel Run has raised a total of nearly $150,000 over its first five years, about $50,000 of which is now in the scholarship fund,” said Domeshek. “The Natasha Domeshek Kindness Scholarship will be awarded in June to one or more members of the Medfield High School class of 2012.”
The nomination process and criteria will be announced in February. The number of scholarships has not yet been determined.
Domeshek said this will be his last year running the “fun raiser” created in memory of his daughter. After this year’s event, the responsibility for organizing the Angel Run will shift to The Medfield Foundation which will also determine how any proceeds are directed in the future.
“We are so grateful for all the community support the Angel Run and our family have received; it has been humbling and heartwarming,” said Domeshek. “I think Natasha smiles down on the Angel Run every year. She would have loved participating in it.”
For more information on the Angel Run, to volunteer, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit http://www.angelrun.org, or contact Garrity at info1@angelrun.org or (508) 359-7496.
