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Student's plan to help her grandfather blossoms into bigger project By:BILL SPANGLER , STAFF WRITER 05/29/2003 It started because Karen Pellak wanted to help her grandfather. Now, though, it's even more than that. Now, she said, it 's something that she wants to choose as a career. Pellak, a junior at Souderton Area High School, is the organizer of Cure P.D, a five-kilometer run/walk and kids' walk to raise money to fight Parkinson's Disease. The race is scheduled to begin on June 7 at 8:30 a.m. at the Franconia Community Park. The participants in the event will raise money from sponsors for every mile that they run, Pellak said. This money will be donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Parkinson's Disease, Pellak said, is a chronic, progressive disorder of the nervous system. It causes tremors and a lack of control in body movement. "There's medication to help control the symptoms, but there's no cure," she said. Pellak said her grandfather, Bernie, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease seven years ago. "We can't do some of the things that we used to," she said, "but he's still the same person. Nothing's changed." The Pellak family "came together" to fight this crisis, she said. However, there were still times when they felt helpless. An avid runner, Karen Pellak thought about the races she had participated in in order to raise money for various causes. That led her to the idea of starting a 5K Run to help fight Parkinson's. Organizing that race, she decided, would become her graduation project at the high school. The student graduation project is an in-depth study of a topic that the student chooses. Every students is required to complete a project in order to graduate. Pellak said that, like other students, she submitted a written application to get her project approved while in 10th grade. Her final report on the project, an oral presentation, is due in November of her senior year. One of the first things Pellak had to do, she explained, was get permission from the Franconia Township Supervisors to hold the race. That happened last fall. "They were great," she said. "They said they would support us any way that they could." The 5K course will begin and end at the Franconia Community Park, she said. Generally, Pellak said, she was worried about getting respect from adults while she organized the race. However, she encountered few problems in that area. She did say that her mother had to officially sign for the insurance that she bought for the race. Insurance is a necessity, she said, in order to pay for the treatment of any injuries that are suffered during the race. Producing the brochures was difficult, Pellak said, but not because she is a teenager. "There was a lot of proofreading to do, and sending it back and forth, in order to make sure all the mistakes were corrected." In general, she said preparing for the race has been an exercise in "following up and calling back. It's a lot of responsibility. It's a lot of work." If the race is held again next year, Pellak said, she hopes to create committees to handle some of the responsibilities. At same time, though, she said that "I just love contacting people and organizing things. I think the biggest thing that I got out of this was discovering that I had found my niche." In college, she'd like to major in marketing or a field that requires this sort of organizing, Pellak said. In addition to being a runner, Pellak plays lacrosse in school. She is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA); Students Against Violating the Earth (SAVE) and the student council. "She's doing a tremendous job," Bernie Friel, her grandfather, said. Her mother, Peggy, said, "She's really kept her momentum up, on both the race and her grades." Karen Pellak said that they have approximately three dozen people signed up for the race so far, but it's difficult to predict the final number. "Bob Williamson, the coordinator of the Moyer & Son 5K Run, told me that half of the people who are going to race don't sign up until the last day of the discount registration fees." After May 31, adult registration fees go from $18 to $20, she said. Children's registration fees are $5. "I'll be happy if we make $3,000 or $4,000 from the race," Pellak said. Brochures with the registration forms can be found at both Club Genesis locations; the Indian Valley Public Library; Lisa's Pizza; GNC in Harleysville and the Fitness Works. For more information call Pellak at 215-723-7820 or E-mail her at [log in to unmask] SOURCE: The Springfield Sun, PA http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1306&dept_id=187822&newsid=8156946&PAG=461&rfi=9 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn