“In Their Shoes” 5K fun run/walk with Iraqi’s Ambassador Lukman Faily

MEDIA ADVISORY

The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) will host its second annual “IN THEIR SHOES” 5K fun run/walk at Cameron Run Regional Park in Alexandria, VA, on Saturday, May 10, at 8 am.  The 5K will benefit desperately poor Iraqi orphans and street children after years of war.   Iraq’s Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily will be the Distinguished Guest Runner.

According to a December 2012 UNICEF report, there are approximately 800,000 orphans in Iraq today.   Many orphans and other displaced children work on the streets or in other dangerous environments to support widowed mothers or extended family. This humanitarian crisis poses a threat to the future security and stability of Iraq.  Unless effective action is taken in the next 5-10 years, many of these children – especially those in desperate poverty – may reach adulthood without help for the trauma and suffering they have experienced, leaving them vulnerable to extremists, criminals, and human traffickers.   The Iraqi Children Foundation’s “IN THEIR SHOES” 5K is focused on raising awareness of the suffering, poverty, and vulnerability of these kids and mobilizing loving support for food, tutoring, emotional care, and more to address their basic needs.

• WHAT: “IN THEIR SHOES – 2014” 5K fun run/walk
• WHEN: 8 am, Saturday, May 10, 2014
• WHERE: Cameron Run Regional Park, 4001 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA
• DISTINGUISHED GUEST RUNNER:  Ambassador of Iraq to the United States. His Excellency Lukman Faily who just participated in the Boston Marathon
• WHO: ICF Chairman and Iraq war veteran Jonathan Webb; ICF President Elizabeth Phillips who served at the US Embassy in Baghdad; former Iraq Ambassador to the US and UN Samir Sumaida’ie; US Ambassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Richard J. Schmierer; Col. Paul Bricker (US Army, Ret.); Gold Star Mothers of servicemen/women who died in Iraq: distinguished members of the local Iraqi-American community, and youth from local area schools.  Premier Sponsors for the 5K include the Khudairi Group, Triple Canopy, and BH Defense.   Additional standard sponsors will be featured at the 5k.

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The Iraqi Children Foundation is a US-based nonsectarian tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, based in Falls Church, VA, whose  mission is to mobilize a life-changing surge of love for Iraqi orphans and street children suffering from years of war and violence.  For more information, visit www.sicfiraq.org

Note: Word document of the media advisory: 5K Media Advisory 2014