The 10th annual Shine On 5k run and walk will be held Sunday, September 19th at 9am.
Bib and shirt pick up will begin at 8am.
Venue Address: Lewis S. Mills High School, 26 Lyon Road, Burlington, Connecticut 06013
CLICK HERE to register!
The mission:
To know Karen was to love her.
Karen E. (Jodoin) DuCotey attended the Lake Garda Elementary School, Harbur Middle School and Lewis Mills High School. Karen was a member of the graduating class of 1997.
While attending Lewis Mills High School Karen enjoyed playing field hockey and softball. She loved hanging out with her friends, attending concerts, car shopping and worked after school as a waitress.
Karen received her teaching degree from The University of Connecticut. Upon graduation, Karen began working on her master’s degree at Saint Joseph College. In 2002, Karen was accepted for the long term substitute position in first grade at Lake Garda School. Karen’s enthusiasm for teaching, combined with her knowledge on how to reach every child, landed her the full time first grade position at Lake Garda School the following year. Karen taught first grade for seven years at Lake Garda and accepted a switch to teach second grade 2010.
Karen was a vibrant energetic young woman who loved her students and her family. Karen was married in 2003 to Francis DuCotey. Other than spending time with her family and friends, her interests and hobbies included, running, camping, shopping, going out to dinner, snowboarding, reading and most of all she loved holidays and presents. Karen was known to celebrate her birthday for an entire month!
Karen’s life ended unexpectedly in 2010 at the young age of 31 but her spirit, love and energy shine on and continue to influence the hundreds of students, friends and family members whose lives she made brighter.
With the money raised from the 2011 Shine On 5K, The Karen DuCotey Fund for Kids was established through The Main Street Community Foundation. This immediate response fund supports students attending schools in the Region 10 School District which includes Burlington and Harwinton. Like many of the immediate response requests, needs may be related to food, clothing, shelter, health, safety, extracurricular educational experiences, and opportunities for inclusion (i.e. sports, camp) for students faced with a particular life situation or unexpected financial hardship. A grant from the recently established Karen DuCotey Fund for Kids supported a student suffering from serious illness by providing the family food and necessary household items.
Along with continuing to fund The Karen DuCotey Fund for Kids, the money raised from the annual Shine On 5K will be used to continue funding a yearly scholarship that will be awarded to a Lewis Mills, college bound senior looking to pursue a career in the field of education and to help support the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department.
CLICK HERE to register!