10th Annual Alex Handy 5K Set for September 9

It’s been 10 years since the Alex Handy 5K began in Medway as a fundraiser for Project Alex, a foundation created by Alex Handy’s parents to promote safety within the town. Alex Handy was just 12 years old in 2006 when he passed away after having been struck by a vehicle on his bicycle just a few blocks from his home on Lee Lane. After a decade of providing bicycle helmets through the Medway Police Dept. to local kids, painting crosswalks for better visibility, purchasing flashing safety signs for the town and other safety improvements, and providing college scholarships, The Project Alex Foundation will finally dissolve, and the baton to carry on its mission has been passed to the Medway Secondary Parent Teacher Organization (MSPTO), who will host the 10th Annual Alex Handy 5K, to take place on Sunday, September 9, 2018, at the Medway VFW. (https://mspto.org/alex-handy-5k/)
Rich Handy, who founded Project Alex with his wife, Ann, of 30 years, says,” As a family, we need to move onto the next chapter. We raised about $250,000 and gave every drop of it back to the schools, the police and the town.” Creating the foundation, he says, gave his family “something to attach to. We thought, what a great idea – we were grieving so bad back then – we thought if we could help one kid we felt like we were doing something good.”
The Handy’s, who have another son, Christopher, who’s 17, wanted the work of the organization to continue. They considered having the Medway Police Dept. take the race over, but “the school reached out first,” says Rich, who says that supporting education is also important to the family.
“I do think we’ve achieved what we started, far more than we ever thought we’d do. We didn’t know what to expect,” says Handy, who says the effort evolved into a responsibility that his wife, Ann, mainly took on, donating probably 100 man-hours for the foundation’s annual golf tournament and about half that for the 5K each year. Ann will still maintain a lot of involvement in the 5K, he says, “We love Medway, and we’ll try to stay here as long as we can.”
Carolynne Benedetto, of the Medway Secondary Parent Teacher Organization and a member of the running group, Medway Momma Striders, is involved in organizing the race. She is co-directing the race with Ann Handy.
“We’ve been working together for the past six or seven months,” says Benedetto, “with the PTO taking over the fiduciary responsibility. Project Alex has been dissolved, but we are still supporting the initiatives Project Alex supported.” These will include providing free bike helmets through Medway Police and Fire, painting crosswalks for better visibility, especially near schools, and providing funds to staff the weight rooms at Medway Middle and High Schools, so that students will be able to safely use equipment.
“Those are the major things, and we work closely with the Medway Police Department,” says Benedetto. MSPTO has added more formal sponsorship of the race this year, with gold, silver and bronze sponsorships available.
The 10th Annual Alex Handy 5K will begin at 8 a.m. on September 9th, with registration starting at 7 a.m. The cost is $30 for participants 15 and over, and $5 for kids 14 and under with a donation of a canned item for the Medway Village Food Pantry.
“One of the things about this race is it’s not the typical Medway 5K route,” says Benedetto. “It starts at the VFW and goes behind it, and one of the things the Handy family says is it’s a really family-friendly route. It’s quiet roads that the race takes place on.”
Afterwards, at the VFW where the softball field is, says Benedetto, races for younger children will be held, with ribbons are provided for the littlest runners. The event will also feature a face painter, balloons and snacks.
For more information about the race, visit https://mspto.org/alex-handy-5k/. To volunteer, please contact Carolynne Benedetto at [email protected] for more information.