CRANFORDLIFE UNIONNEWSDAILY.COM
Club hosts tournament
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Get ready for duck races
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A ‘scairy’ fundraiser
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OCTOBER 2022
VOL. 07 NO. 02
‘Quest for the Cure’ gets people moving By David Jablonski Managing Editor Sunday turned out to be a good day for a race. Schmitts’ Quest for the Cure hosted its ninth annual Cranford Cure T1 Diabetes 5K Walk/Run on Sunday, Sept. 18, in Nomahegan Park, at 1033 Springfield Ave. The 5K takes place annually to rally support to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. “The event was very well attended,” said John Arminio, a representative for Schmitts’ Quest for the Cure, in an interview with Union County LocalSource on Monday, Sept. 19. “The event started at 9 a.m. The weather was great. The turnout was great. We give out awards for different age groups and overall. “It was a beautiful day, probably the highest level of attendance we had,” he continued. “Last year was the first year kind of back in person, after the pandemic, and it was decent but lower than previous years. This year, we made up for it, definitely. The participation compared to other 5Ks is kind of low but we also do a walk. There were probably 250 people partaking in both events. So there are typically more runners than walkers. It’s sanctioned by the United States Track & Field association. If they sanctioned the event, then, from a runner’s standpoint, you know you can earn points. They help us with liability insurance that we have to have.” The Schmitts’ Quest for the Cure nonprofit originated as a family-and-friends cycling team that rode each year in the Tour de Cure, a national fundraising event for diabetes research and treatment. After 11 years of enthusiastic participation, the Schmitt family took fundraising to the next level and created a 501(c)(3) organization to raise money to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes and support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, now known as the JDRF, since Type 1 diabetes can affect people at any age. SQC has collaborated on a variety of previous fundraisers, with
Photos by David VanDeventer
Altruistic runners and walkers of all ages enjoyed the last weekend of summer by raising funds for others at the ninth annual Cranford Cure T1 Diabetes 5K Walk/Run on Sunday, Sept. 18, in Nomahegan Park, Cranford. more than 1,250 total participants. Gloria Rose and Andrew Schmitt, siblings, are the founders of Schmitts’ Quest for a Cure. “I was diagnosed in high school, and all throughout college and probably for three or four years after college, I didn’t want … that to be my only identity,” said Gloria Rose Schmitt in an interview with LocalSource on Wednesday, Sept. 21. “But now I want to share it with others because I want people to know that having diabetes is not a limitation or anything that can hinder your success or your growth.” Both Schmitts are Type 1 diabetics, said Arminio, who is the Schmitts’ uncle. “They were diagnosed kind of young, and they started with volleyball in Cranford High School to raise money. But it was just grassroots to raise money. And
then they created a 501(c)(3) to raise money. And I said (creating the nonprofit is) a really good way to raise money. … I (helped raise money) in Montville for an organization called Pathways for Exceptional Children for a number of years. I thought (creating a nonprofit) could be a good thing for Schmitts’ Quest for the Cure.” “Initially, we had participated in a bike ride through the American Diabetes Association,” said Gloria Rose Schmitt. “We did it for a few years, and the first year we had a lot of people come out with us, but by the third year, it was just our family doing it, so we decided we wanted to do something local. So we did a volleyball tournament, but it limited people. So then we decided that we See 5K, Page 14
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