On Monday, Sept. 6 teen girls lined up for hours at NSU to see Joe Jonas of the Jonas brothers, but they weren’t waiting to see him sing they waiting to see him run.
Through his charity, Change for the Children, Jonas has created a series of races, which he also participates in. The most recent one was the iWin Fun Run for Special Olympics at NSU, which raises awareness and funds for Special Olympics.
Nick Jonas, friends and Joe’s entourage joined the star at the starting line. Jonas said the race is less about publicity and more about positively affecting others.
“Even when we started the iWin Fun Run, I said it wasn’t even a big deal that my name was attached to it,” he said. “I just wanted to do something athletic and fun. Special Olympics is all about being athletic. It really encourages me that I’ll be able to encourage these kids.”
Rose Voscavitch was a race participant who benefited from Jonas’ pushing for fitness. Voscavitch attended a Jonas Brothers’ concert a year ago and was so overweight, she feared she would have a heart attack climbing to her seat with her godchild. Since the concert, she has lost almost 100 pounds.
“I was inspired to run the 5K because I did lose a lot of weight and that Joe was here to sponsor and run for Special Olympics. He started my weight loss. From that moment on, it changed my life,” said Voscavitch.
Kerri Leonardo, Special Olympics Broward County athlete of the year and leader of the “Ivy’s Dream” team said that she and her friend, Ivy Mcmahon, were also affected by Jonas’ efforts. Leonardo said that Ivy was very sick and her wish was to meet Joe Jonas. The family tried to make her wish come true. Coincidently, Jonas’s fundraiser was held in the area. It was the perfect opportunity to make Ivy’s dream come true.
Unfortunately, Ivy died a week before the event. Instead, Ivy’s mother ran in her place. Leonardo said that she wished her friend could have been there.
“I am not a runner. I just run for Special Olympics. I run because I want to run. I do it for my friend,” said Leonardo.
Participants worked hard to raise funds for the event. The top five fundraisers were Hannah Zegel, who raised $12,000, Ivy Mcmahon, who raised $7,200, Alayna Muncy, who raised $5,381, Sarah Lieberman, who raised $3,053, and Adee David, who raised $2,420. The goal was $50,000 but the event raised nearly $95,000 for the Special Olympics Florida.
