15th annual Five Towns 5k run/walk raises $50k for Beit Halochem USA
Runners of a variety ages took part in the 15th annual Five Towns 5K Run/Walk at North Woodmere Park on June 9. Involved for all that time, the Beit Halochem International name was added five years ago..
Beit Halochem USA is the only organization authorized in the U.S. to raise money to aid in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers who served in the Israel Defense Forces.
There are a half dozen Beit Halochem rehab centers across the Jewish state. All the facilities are specially designed to accommodate the military veterans, who are enduring a broad spectrum of disabilities,
On Sunday, early morning clouds and some rain created a cool atmosphere for the runners.
North Babylon resident Joel Mandel, 42, was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 18:23. Jacob Pekelis, 34, from West Hempstead placed second in 19:28 and Woodmere’s Kyle Moshe Seidel, 23, captured third place in 20:07. The first woman to finish was Shari Klarfeld, 43, of Plainview, in 20:43.
Israeli military veterans, Shahar Firshtman, Roi Gavish and Naor Partush attended the event. More than $50,000 was raised.
“I think it was very successful, we had close to 400 participants and it went off very nicely and smoothly as usual, “ said race founder Isaac Seinuk. “The people were very happy afterwards. We had a lot of happy participants.”
Maidenbaum Property Tax Reductions LLC was a major sponsor of the event, along with Abraham Roofing, Herald Community Newspapers, Pa-Kua, Squeezers and The Jewish Star.
— Melissa Berman and Jeffrey Bessen
