NJIT Cross Country Team Volunteers at Charity Race

NJIT cross country team volunteers at charity race

The young NJIT cross country team teamed up with the Track & Field club to boost its participation and support of the Liberty Half Marathon this past weekend. Coach Alonso was impressed with the effort the team put in, "some of our architect students had been up for over 24 hours working on their projects and still came out with their fellow teammates for this good cause." This past Sunday, over 30 athletes were up before dawn for a 6:30am departure. The team was stationed at Liberty State Park where they were responsible for no less than 4 water stops in the park. The team set up tables, filled cups, cheered and encouraged the participants and cleaned up everything after the race. Coach Alonso added. "The feedback we got from the participants was fantastic, from the thank you's and great job to the occasional hey I went there! (referring to the NJIT on our shirts)". Initially, the funds from the run were used for capital projects such as purchasing ambulances and other equipment. However, in 1999, proceeds were dedicated to the needs of children. Proceeds from the Liberty Waterfront Run benefit the Children's Hospital of Hudson County, a non-profit whose mission is to provide quality medical care regardless of a patient's ability to pay. The Children's Hospital operates the Kazmir Family regional perinatal center, neonatal intensive care unit, and the area's only pediatric intensive care unit. Caring for the region's sickest children, the Children's Hospital ranks second in the state in emergency pediatric admissions.