No. 16 Vol. 6
www.mypaperonline.com
June 2018
RHS Color Run Supports Fourth Grader Fighting Brain Tumor
I
By Rachel Sclar t was one day before the first day of school- Matt Adonis and his twin sister, Madyson, were ready to take on fourth grade math problems and homework assignments, but not ready for news that would change their lives forever. It was one day before the first day at Nixon Elementary School in Landing that 10-year old Matt Adonis of Landing was diagnosed with a brain tumor- Medulloblastoma. In the weeks leading up to his diagnosis, doctors believed the headaches were merely migraines, but his parents knew it was something more. Unfortunately, an MRI proved them right. This year, the Roxbury High School Interact Club donated the proceeds of their 5th annual Color Fun Run to Adonis and his family, in hopes to support them morally and financially. The run took place May 20 at Horseshoe Lake in Succasunna. On that rainy Sunday, 646 participants came out to be smothered in colored powder, and to support a great cause. Grace O’Donnell, one of the participants, admires the event “where the people in our community can join together for one common goal: to help others in need. It’s always an amazing feeling to see such a large turnout and to know what a giving community Roxbury is.” O’Donnell is currently a college student and explains the drive that keeps her and
Roxbury’s Real Estate EXPERT
Lynn Martini
Cell:973-945-2880 Invite me in for a Free Price Analysis See Back Page
2016 NJ Realtors Circle of Excellence Sales Award - GOLD LEVEL ®
PLATINUM CLUB
Photo Courtesy of Roxbury Rotary Club
her friends coming back each year: “Even though we are in college, we will always be Interact Club alumni ready to help in any way we can. You’re never too old to do good for others.” The Color Fun Run instills many selfless principles into Roxbury’s youth and that, according to Grace, “the event was my first taste of the concept ‘service over self.’ Through the years the color run has taught me the true value of helping others in need, which is a lesson that I find I use every day in my pursuit of a career in nursing.” Steven Alford, the advisor of the Interact Club, says that his favorite part is “When everyone lines up before the race, we start counting down from 10, and everyone is so loud and in unison. It literally gives me chills.” Alford is also an active member of the Roxbury Rotary club and
is constantly working to improve the community despite his hectic lifestyle. “We all have such busy lives and our own issues to deal with, but for the past five years, that one day a year we get to come together as one and be reminded how important it is to look out for others, especially in our community,” says Alford. With all the negativity happening in the world today it is important to not only find the good, but create it. As Alford likes to say, “’If not us, then who?’” The Interact Club raised $14,627.51 for Adonis. It will go towards the family’s expenses. After talking to Adonis’ mom multiple times, Alford says that “if our event does anything, it gives the family a great sense of other people caring about them and I think that is actually so much more valuable then the money we end up raising for them.”