St. Jude Jeep Run 2023, a Family
Affair
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[June 27, 2023]
Saturday June 24th was a hot but perfect day
for the 4th annual St. Jude Jeep Run. The run lasted throughout the
day stopping at various pubs, having auctions, and raising money
with all proceeds going directly to St. Jude.
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Cassidy Ferguson, one of the coordinators of the Jeep
run, noted that running in St. Jude’s Run/Walk is a family affair
and the reason for the Jeep run. The Jeep run came about in 2019
when Ferguson was participating in the Memphis to Peoria Run/Walk
and needed to raise funds for St. Jude. Her cousin, Rhonda
O’Donoghue, ran from Lincoln to Peoria when Lincoln still had a
team. Another cousin, Austin O’Donoghue, runs from Washington to
Peoria. The reason for running and the passion for St. Jude is
because the three cousins lost a family member, Wes O’Donoghue, to
childhood cancer.
A special guest in attendance Saturday was Uzay Togay,
who was diagnosed with cancer after feeling pain in his hip when
playing soccer. After having an MRI he was on the road to St. Jude
where they diagnosed him with Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that
is very aggressive. He was extremely fortunate it was caught in
time. He went through nine months of chemo, one week with three
treatments and the next week with three. In the middle of all of
that, he got a resection of his iliac wing (hip bone). Through the
love and support of St. Jude he is now healthy and back to playing
soccer!
There were 87 registered jeeps/old cars/bikes at the
Jeep event and almost 250 people in attendance. This year, the event
raised $6,426.80 for a total over four years of nearly $15,000, even
with one year off in 2020 due to Covid.
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With last year’s participation being
around 58 jeeps, it is anticipated that this successful event will
continue to grow.
[Heather Gaule] |