Good News: New Jersey Man Runs 20.2 Miles to Raise Money For Graduating Seniors Who Can’t Afford Yearbooks

Leia IdlibyMay 6th, 2020, 11:02 am
 
new jersey runner

Gov. Phil Murphy / Twitter

A marathon runner from New Jersey ran 20.2 miles to raise money for graduating seniors at Collingswood High School who couldn’t afford their yearbooks, CNN reported.

“I had seen other runners still doing their marathons which is fun, but I wondered if I could tie a fundraising element into a run for my local high school since many of their fundraising events were canceled,” Patrick Rodio told CNN. “So through that I thought it’d be fun to run 20.20 miles for the class of 2020!”

Students across the U.S. have had their senior years disrupted amid the coronavirus and have had to miss events such as prom and graduation, so Rodio wanted to ensure they were all able to afford one final memento.

“We have a lot of students that it would be hard for them to buy a yearbook,” Robert Lewandowski, a commissioner of the town, told CNN. “Now you add the economical impact that the pandemic has caused with people losing their jobs and that obstacle of purchasing a yearbook is that much harder.”

Lewandowski helped Rodio set up a fundraising website through Collingswood Cares, so his supporters could donate money while he finished his run. By Tuesday night, he had raised over $5,000.

Rodio’s gesture was noticed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who took to Twitter to thank him:


He will continue to collect money until the end of the week and will donate any extra money to a scholarship fund.

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