2012 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run® Enjoying Wide Acceptance

The single largest fund raiser for Credit Unions for Kids blooms into a Family of Races

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2012 — The 40th running of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run® took place today, Sunday April 1, with over 15‚000 runners competing and breaking records in the world-class sporting event around the monuments of DC.   The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run® is also known as the Runner’s Rite of Spring®.  Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc, (CUMD) has sponsored the run for 11 years to benefit Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) affiliated hospitals and this year, inaugurated the CUMD Family of Races which include:

• Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run — Washington‚ DC
• Credit Union SacTown Ten-Mile Run — Sacramento‚ CA
• Credit Union Freedom Ten Mile Runs —Wiesbaden‚ Germany and Camp   Arifjan‚ Kuwait

Credit Union Miracle Day officials were beaming even before the DC race began.   This year’s donation of $515,000‚ helped bring the 11 year total of funds donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to over $5.5 million.  

In remarks to sponsors at the pre-race press event on Friday, CUMD Chairman Juri Valdov said, “Since 2002, our title sponsorship of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run has produced man y achievements for the Credit Union Movement, and now that we have expanded to include the Credit Union SacTown Ten-Mile Run and two Freedom Runs for our troops overseas, we expect even more successes.”

Mr. Valdov reported that over 185 Members of Congress from 45 states were Honorary Race Chairs –more than twice the number in 2011.  Nearly 1,000 Capital Hill staffers participated in the run as well.  “We are extremely grateful for this unprecedented support from Congress, as well as the credit unions and their business partners.  Their support helps kids get the quality medical treatment they need from children’s hospitals nationwide,” added  Mr. Valdov.

CUMD officials are quick to point out that thanks to the tremendous support of lead partner‚ PSCU Financial Services, as well as national business partner, CUNA Mutual Group‚ once again‚ they are able to donate 100 percent of the credit union funds raised to Children’s Miracle Network affiliated hospitals across the country.

“The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run supports credit unions’ desire to give back to their communities,” said Michael Kelly, President and CEO of PSCU, the event’s lead partner. “The event is a tremendous opportunity showcase the consumer advantages inherent in credit unions’ cooperative structure.”

“CUNA Mutual Group has been a national business partner of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run since credit unions began hosting the event 11 years ago,” said CUNA Mutual President and CEO Jeff Post. “We are proud to be a partner in such a worthwhile event that positively affects thousands of children nationwide and draws further attention to the value credit unions bring to all of us.”

In addition to 93 credit union sponsors from across the country, more than 56 credit union business partners supported the run as well.   It is estimated that over 7‚000 of the 15,000 DC runners are credit union members.   Once again, there was live video streaming of the run on two websites: www.miracleday.org and www.cherryblossom.org.  

Over 670 credit union volunteers helped on race day at water stops and the baggage claim, and as course marshals.

On hand for the run in DC were 12 year-old Carsten Connolly and 26 year old Greg Wagner, former patients at Children’s National Medical Center in DC. Carsten is the 2012 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Champion for Children’s National Medical Center; Greg is a Former Champion for Children’s National.  Both Carsten and Greg ran in the 5K portion of the Cherry Blossom Run.

2012 was also the inaugural year for the Credit Union Miracle Day Family of Races.  Organizers consider all three new races to be great successes with more than 1,300 runners at the Credit Union SacTown Ten-Mile Run in Sacramento, and over 1,000 runners at the two Credit Union Freedom Runs for US troops overseas at Camp Arijan in Kuwait, and Wiesbaden, Germany.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is an alliance of premier children’s hospitals across North America which treats 17 million critically ill children annually‚ regardless of their ability to pay.

Credit Union Miracle Day‚ Inc.‚ (CUMD) is the title sponsor group of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run ®. CUMD is a partnership of credit unions, CUSOs and partner organizations nationwide that have joined together under the umbrella of Credit Unions for Kids to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals by sponsoring the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run® and the CUMD Family of Races. For more information‚ visit www.miracleday.org.

Established in 1977, PSCU (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is the nation’s leading credit union service organization (CUSO) and serves more than 1,500 financial institutions nationwide. As a non-profit cooperative, the company is owned by more than 680 member credit unions representing 16 million credit, debit, prepaid, online bill payment, mobile and electronic banking accounts. Comprehensive 24/7/365 member support is delivered through four Contact Centers located throughout the United States that handle more than 18 million inquiries a year. For more information, visit the PSCU website at www.pscu.com.

For more information on the Credit Union Miracle Day Family of Races, please contact Sarah Turner, CUMD Director, at 443-325-0778 or info@cucherryblossomrun.org.

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