The Chicken Runs at Midnight might seem like a random phrase, and it started off as such. However, since its conception by Amy Donnelly, it has come to mean so much more. From a random phrase to an inspiration for baseball players and coaches, it has now become a traditional charity event in Haddonfield.
The Canuso Foundation and Babe’s Kids will hold the 6th annual The Chicken Runs at Midnight on Friday, May 1 at the Haddonfield Middle School. The Chicken Runs at Midnight is a family fun event with a kids relay at 5:30 p.m. and a 3K run down Kings Highway at 10 p.m. that raises money for local children affected by cancer. During and in between the relay and run, there will be a carnival-like atmosphere with activities, food and entertainment.
“This is where we live and work. We just knew the town would be receptive to this. A lot of Babe’s Kids are in the Haddonfield school system,” Mary Helen Ranieri, executive director of The Canuso Foundation, said.
The Canuso Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps brighten the lives of children who are coping with cancer, other serious illnesses and disabilities. Since 1974, the foundation has helped raise more than $2 million for cancer research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as money for area Ronald McDonald houses, college scholarships for students affected by cancer or for kids directly affected by childhood cancer, serious illness or disabilities. A division of the Canuso Foundation is called Babe’s Kids, named for founder John Canuso’s daughter Babe who passed away from cancer.
The Chicken Runs at Midnight was inspired by Amy who once asked her father Rich, a third base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates and then-Florida Marlins, what he was shouting to the runner on second base. She asked, “Dad, what are you yelling to the runner, ‘The chicken runs at midnight’?” The statement had no origin, no specific meaning, yet became a buzz phrase in the Donnelly home, and among the Pirates.
During spring training in 1992, Amy was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died nine months later at age 18. Four years later, the Marlins won the World Series, and it was their then-third base coach Rich who waved home Craig Counsell with the winning run in the 11th inning of Game 7. Counsell was nicknamed “The Chicken” in the Donnelly house because he flapped his left elbow as he got ready for the pitch to be delivered. As Counsell crossed the plate, and bedlam followed at Dolphin Stadium, Rich was told to look at the scoreboard clock by one of his sons. It was midnight. The chicken had run at midnight.
Canuso was so inspired by this story he called Rich and came up with the concept for the Haddonfield event that this year is being held on May 1.
“His daughter had the same prognosis as my sister got. When my dad saw the story put together by Lifetime, we adopted it into The Chicken Runs at Midnight in Haddonfield,” Ranieri said.
According to Ranieri, it begins with a family festival at 5:30 p.m. with a relay attached to it. Teams of kids relay around the track while the family festival goes on. There will be food trucks, entertainment, bouncy houses and carnival games for kids and families to enjoy.
“We hope that people see kids helping other kids and become more proactive in helping people who are struggling in their own community,” Ranieri said.
At 9:30 p.m., Haddonfield will close the street for the midnight run, which will be held instead at 10 p.m. to include younger kids. The run is a 3k that starts at the middle school then goes to the high school around the track and then back to the middle school.
The registration for the relay around the school track will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the relay will begin at 6 p.m. The registration for the 3K run down Kings Highway will start at 9 p.m. and the run will begin at 10 p.m.
Last year, more than 2,000 people participated, and the foundation hopes to have the same turnout this year.
To sign up to be a part of the relay, run or both, go to www.canusofoundation.org and click on Chicken Run and click the Register button. To participate in the relay or run it is $25 each. There are also opportunities to volunteer and be a sponsor. If someone donates $100 or more, their name will be put on a lawn sign to be recognized during the race. Tickets for the festival will be $1 each.
All proceeds will support Babe’s Kids, this year being Zach Murray and Michelle Chism.
Zach, 14, is an eighth grader at Haddonfield Middle School. When Zach was 4, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, along with an unspecified immune deficiency and lung issues. After much work and a few trials and errors, the doctors came up with the right treatments and Zach went into remission. During the summer of 2014, Zach realized he wasn’t feeling well. It turns out his disease has returned and along with it his neuropathy.
Chism has been a kindergarten teacher at Central School for the past 10 years. In August 2006, Chism was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Reoccurrences in 2009, 2010 and finally Stage 4 in 2010 meant intensive in and outpatient treatment. She was pronounced cancer free in April 2011. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed in November 2014 with leukemia and underwent treatment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She was pronounced in remission in November 2014 when underlying Myeloid Dysplasia Syndrome was discovered. This past February, Chism underwent a bone marrow transplant and is working hard to recover fully from all the treatment.
“Everyone, volunteers, event-goers, Haddonfield residents, are all helping two people in Haddonfield who are struggling,” Ranieri said.
To learn more about Zach and Chism or to learn more about the Chicken Runs at Midnight for this year visit www.canusofoundation.org/chicken-runs-at-midnight-2015/.
