May 9, 2009 Monique Van Stechelman has logged hundreds of miles training for her first full marathon next weekend, but the 38-year-old Green Bay
resident also has been raising money simultaneously for the Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay. Van Stechelman is one of 36 runners so far who have raised more than $250 for charitable causes and will run for free on May 17 in the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. About 78 runners have incorporated fundraising into their training for the marathon’s three partner charities. The charity partners for the 2009 marathon are the Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay, The Salvation Army of Brown County and Cerebral Palsy Inc. Charities that apply to be partners are picked for a number of reasons. including their funding needs and services they provide. “A marathon is very people-intensive, so we decided to partner with these charities so they could provide some of the work force needed for the event and reap the benefits,” Riordan said. Individual runners had raised a little more than $19,000 as of last week, said Jeff Poppele, fundraising director. Last year they raised about $16,331, and the marathon donated about $50,000 to the three charities.
“The economy is tough, so for people to go out and ask for money and for us to raise more than we did last year, I’m very encouraged by it,” Poppele said.