Thousands of New Yorkers will soon hit the pavement at the 7th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City RBC Race for the Kids – part of Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play. This year’s Race for the Kids takes place on Saturday, September 24th in Riverside Park at 72nd Street in Manhattan.
Intended to raise awareness of the power of mentoring, as well as funding critical to the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City (BBBS of NYC), the event features a 4K (2.5 mile) run/walk and Race for Kids Picnic that encourages adults and children to be active and eat nutritious foods. Adding to the festivities, former gridiron greats Kris Jenkins and Bruce Harper of the New York Jets and Joe Morris of the New York Giants will be on hand to help celebrate the power of mentoring.
BBBS of NYC has set a fundraising goal of $1 million for the Race for the Kids, which will help provide one-to-one mentoring relationship for young people throughout the five boroughs who need caring adult role models in their lives. The cost of supporting each Big-Little match for one year is $2,000, and to date, Race for the Kids has raised nearly $4 million for the organization.
“Race for the Kids helps raise the funds that enable us to provide mentors to the children who need them most,” said Jon May, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City Trustee and Chairman of the 2011 Race for the Kids. “This event celebrates the power of mentoring and we are truly grateful for all the support that makes our programs possible. We’d especially like to thank RBC and Nickelodeon for their unwavering commitment to BBBS of NYC and Race for the Kids.”
“At RBC, we recognize the importance of building relationships with and taking an active role in the communities where our employees work and live – and we have made this a significant part of our corporate culture,” said Mark Standish, President and Co-CEO of RBC Capital Markets. “As we’ve grown our presence in the New York banking community with each passing year, it has been tremendous to watch Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City grow its presence in New York as well.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC is the oldest and largest youth mentoring program in the country, serving more than 3,000 young people throughout the five boroughs each year through one-to-one mentoring relationships.
“Mentoring is something that has a tremendous and positive impact on so many of our lives, and often, we don’t even realize it,’” said Hector Batista, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. “We are thrilled to serve more than 3,000 young people each year, with one-to-one mentoring relationships, and Race for the Kids helps ensure that we are able to continue giving this service.”
“When Big Brothers Big Sisters began Race for the Kids seven years ago, RBC knew this was a cause that demanded our attention and support,” said Rich Franchella, Director of RBC Wealth Management’s Midtown Complex and Founder and Chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City RBC Race for the Kids – part of Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play. “We knew it would raise awareness of the power of mentoring and sustain its ability to provide this service to the young people who need it most. I am thrilled to say we have remained committed to Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City ever since.”
Now in its eighth year, Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play is part of the network’s The Big Help health and wellness initiative, which encourages kids and families to live healthier lifestyles. Nickelodeon will take its TV channels and websites off the air and offline on Worldwide Day of Play (Sept. 24) from 12 to 3 p.m. as a signal to kids and families to get up and get active. As part of the celebration, Nick provides resources to thousands of schools, clubs and organizations for local events across the country.
“Nickelodeon is proud to partner once again with Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC on this incredible event that touches the lives of children throughout New York City,” said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We are committed to inspiring kids to lead active and healthy lifestyles through Worldwide Day of Play and we look forward to sharing that message during another fun Race for the Kids at Riverside Park.”
Registration is open to individual runners/walkers and teams. Check-in opens at 7:30 AM and the race begins at 10:00 AM. The event will take place rain or shine. Pre- registration is encouraged. For more information about the Race, please visit www.raceforthekids.org or call Nicole Matesich, (212) 686-2042 Ext. 214.
Sponsors
In addition to RBC and Nickelodeon, the 7th Annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City RBC Race for the Kids – part of the Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play is proud to announce the following sponsors:
Verizon, the Daily News, NBC New York, ClearChannel Radio, Captivate Network, CBS Radio, Emmis, WBLS-FM, WLIB-FM, Whole Foods Market Upper West Side, Crunch, Kind Healthy Snacks, Hint Water, Popchips and Athleta.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC is one of New York’s oldest not-for-profit organizations, helping New York City’s underprivileged children and their families for over 100 years. Every day at Big Brothers Big Sisters, they see children whose lives have been changed forever because one adult took an interest in them and helped them to realize their potential. With the support of individuals, foundations and corporations, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC has been able to reach out to some of the City’s most disadvantaged children and help them to achieve bright and productive futures through their “one-to-one” mentoring programs.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ approximately 74,000 full- and part-time employees who serve close to 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 55 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 32ndyear, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
