(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Residents of Chicago's South Side Beverly neighborhood on Saturday marked the 14th year of a 5K “turkey trot” that celebrates the legacy of a local high school student.
The fundraising event honors St. Rita High School student John McNicholas, who died in 2011 from a brain tumor.
Hannah O’Connor, a junior board member of the Live Like John Service and Leadership Institute, said not everyone knows John’s story. But participants end up learning about the cause.
“They just knew that they were helping out our community members, and that was a good enough reason for them to come. And we hope to educate a lot more people and spread the awareness after the walk,” O’Connor said.
Amy McNicholas said there weren’t treatment options for her teen son’s cancer. The event helps raise awareness about pediatric cancer, which she considers “woefully underfunded.”
“This event, more than any, just really gives our family life,” she said.
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