Villa Esperanza Services Serves It Up BEST for the Marathon Participants
By Terry Miller
Published: Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Villa Esperanza Services Serves It Up BEST for the Marathon Participants
It didn’t matter that it was dark outside, the first group of volunteers arrived at 5:30 a.m. eager to get things set up at Water Station 14 – Villa Esperanza Services! They set up tables and filled water cups two hours before the first cyclist would pass at 7:30. Rain or shine, the day was filled with cheers for the runners, walkers and cyclists.
A total of 122 volunteers between 5:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. made Villa’s Mile 24 Water Station the most memorable and the one serving it up best for all the marathon participants. 13 year old Alura Williams was proud to hand out the first cup of water at 10:30 to the winning runner. Her brother Jason followed with the 2nd cup to the 2nd place winner.
With two miles to go, marathoners were delighted to see the signs and smiles and hear all the cheering at Villa’s water station. One runner said we were the absolute best water station out there – we had the most people and we cheered the loudest. Volunteers held up signs saying ‘You Rock’, ‘You’re Almost There’ and ‘You Can Do It!’ Some of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders were Villa’s clients who came out and shared in the fun.
Villa solicited volunteers for shifts which really kept the energy going for those running or walking. “Pasadena Forward really made it easy,” shares Alex Paschal, Villa’s Volunteer Coordinator & Events Coordinator. “All we had to do was show up with enthusiasm. The marathon participants were grateful, even through their exhaustion they managed to smile and say thank you. We hope to do it again next year.”
Villa Esperanza Services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the care and education of children, adults and seniors with developmental and other disabilities. Villa serves families in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties by offering: a comprehensive education center for children up to the age of 22 years; a Speech and Language Center and Occupational Therapy Clinic providing children, adults and seniors with comprehensive therapies; employment services day programs for adults; adult residences in Pasadena and Thousand Oaks; a Care Management Outreach Collaboration Program, providing care management services to frail elderly and the disabled in 41 cities. For more information please call (626) 449-2919 or visit us at www.VillaEsperanzaServices.org.
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