Stand Among Friends (SAF), a Boca Raton-based charitable 501©3 nonprofit organization, will host the second annual “emb(race)®” at Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. The walk/run event celebrates abilities, not disabilities, and will take place on Sunday, February 26, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
“FAU is honored to have this beautiful campus serve as the setting for Stand Among Friends’ emb(race),” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders, honorary chair of the event. “We are inspired by the enthusiasm and support the community has shown for this important cause. I invite all of the FAU community to come out and experience the true meaning of celebrating different abilities.”
The event will feature a 5K, 10K and one-mile family walk and is open to people of all ages and abilities. Whether participants run, walk, stroll, roll, use a wheelchair or hand cycle, anyone is welcome to enter. There will be games for children, live music, food, prizes, raffles, awards and many other fun activities. More than 1,200 people witnessed almost 800 entrants participate in the 2011 inaugural event.
“We’re excited to present our second annual all-inclusive race,” said Shawn Friedkin, founder and president of SAF. “It’s a great time for families and friends to join together with the community and experience living life without boundaries.”
SAF was founded in 1997 to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by promoting opportunities for them to live without limits and experience the highest degree of independence and success in their communities. SAF helps people realize and achieve their career aspirations and widen their social opportunities so they may experience a meaningful life, both personally and professionally. In 2006, SAF opened The Disability Center, a designated Center of Excellence within the State of Florida university system, on FAU’s Boca Raton campus in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing building.
Current SAF programs include Employment for People with Disabilities, Disability Sensitivity, Assistive Technology Center & Off-site Demonstrations, Vocational Evaluation and American Sign Language. These programs help individuals transition to greater independence by teaching work, technology and social skills while emphasizing each person’s talents, interests and education.
Under a grant from the Able Trust, SAF works with FAU’s Office for Students with Disabilities to provide job placement services for graduating seniors who have disabilities by helping them prepare for, find and maintain employment. Through the Employment for People with Disabilities program, SAF provides a full complement of employment and career services for students and adults with disabilities. The organization delivers direct services to more than 600 people annually, and in recent years has placed more than 500 people into productive employment commensurate with their education and experience.
For more information or to register for emb(race), call 561-297-4400, visit www.standamongfriends.org, or email events@standamongfriends.org.
< RETURN TO MAIN PAGE
