April 18, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - The newest Blue-White Weekend tradition was a tremendous success on Sunday, with the number of participants and donations doubling at the Second Annual Beaver Stadium 5K Run/Family Fun Walk to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
More than 1,600 runners and walkers participated in the event. More than $80,000 was raised for Special Olympics Pennsylvania with donations still arriving. The Beaver Stadium 5K Run supports county chapters of Special Olympics and the SOPA state Summer Games, annually held at Penn State.
Sue Paterno, former Nittany Lion standout Franco Harris, law enforcement officials and Penn State student-athletes greeted the runners and walkers as they entered the south tunnel of Beaver Stadium and made their way to the finish at the 50-yard-line.
"We are thrilled beyond words," said Paterno, who is a long-time supporter, volunteer and organizer with Special Olympics. "We want to make this event grow and grow. There were several student groups that were phenomenal, including the Paterno Fellows, who were here all weekend and volunteered on the course.
Paterno made special mention of five Penn State students who from the College of Communications' Comm 473 class: Public Relations Campaigns, taught by Denise Bortree. One of the students, senior Brezden Van Orden, said that creating and implementing a public relations campaign for the Beaver Stadium 5K Run was the Senior Capstone Project for the five students.
"The students from the College of Communications class were simply unbelievable," Paterno stated.
A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Harris also is a long-time supporter of Special Olympics. Harris served as the honorary chair for the first Special Olympics Pennsylvania state Summer Games held on Penn State's University Park campus.
All participants received an official Beaver Stadium Run T-shirt, bottled water and other refreshments and were eligible for gifts and prizes.
Joe and Sue Paterno were inducted into the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2008.
Special Olympics Pennsylvania annually holds its state Summer Games on Penn State's University Park campus in June, with more than 2,000 athletes, 750 coaches and 2,000 volunteers from across the Commonwealth participating. The 2011 event will be held June 9-11.
About Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Special Olympics Pennsylvania provides year-round training and competition in 22 Olympic-type sports to more than 20,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities or closely related developmental disabilities. For more information about how SOPA inspires greatness, visit www.specialolympicspa.org.