CHICAGO—Illinois state Rep. Juliana Stratton ( D-5 ) and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell ( D-3 ) have been named Grand Marshals for the inaugural Pink Hat Run, Walk and Roll, a 5K and one-mile recreational event. The elected officials will greet participants and launch the start on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Chicago's South Loop.
Both women represent the area in which the race is being staged, the South Loop, Museum Campus and revitalized McCormick Square area of the city. Both are "pink hatters" in their own right, fighting for the rights of women throughout the city and state.
The first annual Pink Hat Run, Walk and Roll starts at Prairie Avenue and 18th Street, next to the Chicago Women's Park and Gardens. This location was selected because of the women's park, which includes the Jane Addams hands sculpture as well as a new exhibit on women in Chicago at the Chicago Park District Fieldhouse. The streets are also home to the historic Glessner House Museum and the Clarke House Museum.
The route takes participants along Chicago's beautiful lakefront and Museum Campus. This action is a pledge-drive event to benefit organizations that provide services, advocacy and support to women and girls, and are central to improving the lives of Chicago communities.
Pink Hat Run, Walk and Roll Chicago's 2017 beneficiaries include Access Living, Chicago Foundation for Women ( CFW ), Chicago Women's AIDS Project, Chicago Women Take Action ( CWTA ), Fierce Over 40, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Mujeres Latinas en AcciÃ"n, National Organization for Women-Chicago, League of Women Voters of Chicago, Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative, Personal PAC, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action ( PPIA ), A Sister's Hope, Women's March on Chicago and YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
Organized by veteran activists Jennifer Lee, Cathy Seabaugh, Tracy Baim and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, Pink Hat Run is sponsored by Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, A and N Mortgage Services Inc. and Windy City Times.
Website: pinkhatrun.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pinkhatrun .
