JACKSON – Members of the Jake’s Got This Foundation recently enjoyed a great day of fun and raising awareness even if things didn’t quite go according to plan.
Resident Shannon Kulesa is the president of the Jake’s Got This Foundation. Her son Jake was the inspiration for forming the 501c charity organization.
The Foundation raises funds for children with cerebral palsy and was created by family and friends of Jake Kulesa who at just 13 months old, received a diagnosis of PVL infant brain damage which ultimately led to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
At the time of his diagnosis his parents were told Jake would never walk, never sit up independently and probably never talk. This was not a prediction his family was willing to accept. Through years of early intervention, out of the box intensive therapies, and specialized care, Jake is now talking, sitting up independently and is slowly beginning to walk more and more independently.
Kulesa said that a Monmouth County foundation called Jar Of Hope was teaming up with Jake’s Got This to create a huge event.
“They spent the last three years working on what should have been the run for hope. The Jar Of Hope spearheaded the project and teamed up with us and a few other children’s nonprofits to bring the Monmouth and Ocean counties together for our children,” she added.
Kulesa explained that the Run 4 Hope part of the event was to be held on Route 9 South that was to be closed from “All American Ford in Old Bridge to Iplay America in Freehold where we were hosting a finish line party and business expo for all who came out, not to mention all the businesses that were set as sponsors and water stations to support us all.”
“We were on pace for an estimated 1,500 runners. All of the towns in between as well as the DOT (State Department of Transportation) were on board. A few weeks ago, Jim Raffone, the founder of Jar Of Hope received a call from the DOT stating that they would no longer be able to shut down Route 9.” Kulesa said.
She told The Jackson Times that a farm in Freehold off Route 9 found out about the race and protested it causing the DOT to ultimately cancel the race that was to be held earlier this month.
“After hearing the heartbreaking news that our team would not be able to run I got a call from Jim Raffone who said to me, ‘I know you and I were not supposed to run, but I have to run for my son and for all the people who have worked with us and we promised a race to,’” she said.
Kulesa said “Raffone asked me to join him and I finished my first half marathon with Jim by my side as well as about a dozen people who agreed with Jim and said we are going to do this to raise awareness. We’re going to do this for the boys.”
“We had representatives from News 12 and 101.5 come to show support We hope to reschedule the race within the next year or so,” Kulesa said.
