Mt Laurel event to raise money for cancer

Published 3:27 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2009

While Sebastian Lemos was alive, the young boy fought hard to bring comfort to his family during his days battling brain cancer.

Now, his family is trying to bring comfort to other children in similar situations with Sebastian’s RunWalk for a Cure, to be held in Mt Laurel April 4. Proceeds from the event will go to the pediatric neural oncology department at Children’s Hospital.

Ingrid Lemos, Sebastian’s mother, said the family wanted to honor her son, who died July 19, 2008, and the hospital that helped him so much while he was alive.

“We came up with this. We wanted to help Children’s Hospital. They don’t have enough money,” Lemos said. “It’s to honor my son’s life and to help other children.”

Children’s Hospital spokesperson Emily Hornak recalled Sebastian as outgoing and vivacious, a curious child who had a word for everyone.

“He loved everybody. He never met a stranger. He loved to talk to you if you were a kid or if you were a parent,” she said. “He loved interacting with everybody. He enjoyed everything he did.”

Now Sebastian’s legacy is the RunWalk, where friends, family and people he didn’t even know will work hard to bring awareness to the disease that ended his young life. However, they’ll use the opportunity to celebrate him, too.

“It’s to remember his life,” Lemos said.

Hornak said Mt Laurel was the perfect destination for the event because of its family-friendly feeling.

“A lot of the focus is on this being about family, and we felt like it was the most conducive environment for families to be able to come out, walk and run around,” she said. “The town of Mt Laurel has really embraced this program and been helpful. It’s going to be fantastic. We are so excited about it.”

Registration for the RunWalk starts at 7:30 a.m. Events will include a 5K run or walk, a one-mile Kids’ Fun Run and a one-mile family walk.

Participation costs $25 per adult and $10 for children ages 12 and under. A family of four can participate for $60, plus $10 for additional family members.

For more information, visit www.sebastianlemos.com.