October 25, 2024

Last Sunday, over 50,000 runners took to the streets of Chicago for the 2024 Bank of American Chicago Marathon. That incredible number included 474 Mercy Home Heroes who dedicated the past six months to training and raising support for the work we do at Mercy Home.

The highlight of the marathon route was, of course, the stretch of mile 17 known as the “Mercy Mile.” While passing Mercy Home’s front door, runners are welcomed with cheers by a gathering of fans.

Coworkers, youth, runners’ family members and friends, West Loop neighbors, and others lined Jackson Boulevard to wave signs and make noise. Runners stopped to hug supporters before continuing their quest for the finish line. To herald the arrival of each Hero to the Mercy Mile, volunteers ran alongside them waving green flags with the Mercy Home Heroes crest as they made their way down the block.

But one Heroes’ welcome wasn’t enough to thank our dedicated marathon team. Our runners were again greeted at DePaul University’s student center, host to the official “Heroes Headquarters.” Runners were congratulated by our coworkers, volunteers, and loved ones before enjoying refreshments, hugs and cheers, and complimentary massages from our friends at Rush Physical Therapy.

This celebration was the culmination of a jam-packed race weekend that began with a favorite tradition—the annual Friday night pasta dinner, held at our indoor soccer facility. This event gave runners and their families the chance to come together and fuel up with delicious food, motivation, and inspiration from coworkers, volunteers, and friends. Around 300 people enjoyed a delicious Italian feast prepared again by our dear friends John and Janet Nitti and their wonderful team.

The night began with a welcome from Mercy Home Heroes Manager Mary Connolly, as well as a welcome from Fr. Scott, who could not attend the event but prepared a video in advance to be shared with our Heroes. He explained that the fundraising our Heroes do makes a huge difference in the lives of the young people and families we serve.

“Hear one thing from me: thank you,” he said. “I love you because the commitment you make to young people at our Home makes all the difference in the world. You really are our Heroes.”

After dinner, the Executive Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Carey Pinkowski, gave our Heroes more motivation and advice to help them succeed on Sunday. As always, we were honored that Pinkowski visited our pre-race event during the busy hours leading up to the big day.

Fr. Scott returned via video to give a special thank you to the Nittis for the support they have given Mercy Home throughout the years, including food they donated during the pandemic and all the meals they have made our Heroes.

“On this night, in a very special way, I want to say thanks to John and Janet,” he said. They are truly one of the great loves of my life, one of the great loves of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.”

The Nittis were presented with a special framed Heroes jersey as a thank you for their friendship and kindness.

Connolly also recognized our “Super Heroes”—the top 10 fundraisers—for their efforts. Pete Miscinski was this year’s top fundraiser, raising $20,150 for our boys and girls.

While running is often considered an individual sport, we recognized the tremendous support we received from a number of our Heroes who ran and raised funds in teams, including Team Kellanova, which consisted of 18 runners and a corporate donation. Together, Team Kellanova raised more than $134,000 for our Heroes program. Other top fundraising teams included Ambassador of Mercy member John Pragalz’s team, Bad Johnny’s Good Runners, Team Merithon, named in memory of Meredith Williams, and The Rahal Run Club, made up of runners recruited by Board of Directors member Johanna Rahal. Their dedication of every running on these teams is truly inspiring, and they made a huge difference in the lives of our young people.

Our Heroes also heard from one of our young people, Aaron, who shared a bit about his background and the ways Mercy Home has helped him.

“Before Mercy Home, I didn’t pay a lot of attention at school,” he said. “But I learned here that education determines your future success. The support I received at Mercy Home encouraged me to start paying attention and put more effort into my schoolwork. My hard work paid off. Last year, I got a 4.0 and graduated eighth grade as the salutatorian of my class,” he said before receiving a standing ovation from the supportive crowd of dinner guests. 

Connolly closed out the night with tips to make sure the marathon was a success for our runners, reminding them about the importance of rest and hydration, before sending them on their way with our gratitude.

On Sunday, our Heroes were up before sunrise to take on the challenge they spent so many months preparing for. As they ran through the city, they were cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators—and, of course, got the biggest reception at our Mercy Mile! As they were greeted by coworkers, friends, family, and neighbors, they got the extra shot of energy they needed to finish the race strong. It was wonderful to welcome so many friends to our Home to cheer on our Heroes!

There are so many people to thank for making this year’s marathon a success that we can’t list them all! But we do want to give a special shout out to our coworkers who ran this year’s marathon, Tasha Whitley, Kristin Olson, and Sarah Kelly. Together, they raised $5,410 for our kids!

We were proud to welcome back Mercy Home alum, Ambassadors of Mercy member, and veteran Hero Pat Zamkin. This was his eighth marathon running for Mercy Home and tenth marathon overall. He has been a tireless advocate for our young people and our mission, and we are incredibly grateful to have him on our team!

Thank you to our board members who ran this year, including Ambassador of Mercy member Scott Dias and Associate Board members Patrick Durham and Michael Lyons.

Thank you also to all our coworkers and volunteers who worked long hours to make sure that the Heroes HQ, Mercy Mile, and Pasta Dinner were an unforgettable experience for our runners. Thank you to John and Janet Nitti for another outstanding dinner for our runners and their loved ones and for all who volunteered to make that evening so enjoyable. Thank you to all our runners who dedicated their time, effort, and talents to helping our boys and girls.

And finally, a tremendous thank you to Heroes Manager Mary Connolly for her hard work recruiting and leading our largest group of runners in the program’s 14-year history. Her efforts all year long truly exemplify the Heroes’ motto: “No distance is too far to save a child.”