From the South Orange Rescue Squad:
Accidents and illnesses happen without warning sometimes. Perhaps a loved one is having a heart attack. Perhaps your son cut himself while doing yard work and is having uncontrollable bleeding. Perhaps you have a fever and difficulty breathing and you need immediate emergency medical care, thinking it is COVID-19. Who do you call? If you live in South Orange, you call 911 and the EMT volunteers of the South Orange Rescue Squad will respond in one of their ambulances to assist you. To help support their operations, the Rescue Squad is organizing a virtual 4-mile event called “The Frozen Fest for EMS.”
Details:
About the race: This virtual race is a 4-mile event. Participants may run, walk, or crawl the 4-mile distance any time between December 1 and December 20 at a location and time of their choosing. While we recommend you run your four-mile race in South Orange or Maplewood, you may complete your four miles anywhere!
It’s going to be cold in December, everything is more fun when it is a festival, and the race fully benefits our volunteer EMS squad in South Orange, hence the “Frozen Fest for EMS 4 Miler” name! All participants get entered into a raffle for amazing prizes from generous local businesses including Sneaker Factory, Buff Fitness, the New Jersey Jackals, the New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University, and more! You also have the option to purchase race-related merch as well from our external store! All registration fees and merchandise purchases go to support Rescue Squad operations and supplies in our fight against COVID-19! Results will be shared at the conclusion of the race period!
How do people sign up?
Online at the Registration Link
Link Address: https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/SouthOrange/FrozenFestforEMS4Miler
Do you have to live in South Orange to enter?
No! That’s the beauty of a virtual race. You can live anywhere in the world and run/walk it anywhere! On a road, on a track, or on a treadmill!
When can people sign up?
Registration is now open and will stay open through December 20. You must complete your four miles between December 1 and December 20.
I’m not a runner. Can I walk it? Can someone just sign up to support the squad?
You can run, walk (or even crawl) the four miles. It is on the honor system. There are options during the registration to add donations to the squad as well. With all the Halloween candy and thanksgiving food to be consumed, think of it as a great fitness motivator going into the December holidays!
What if I don’t want to run but just want to buy some “merch”?
Great! Our partnership with Destination Athlete has $5 from every clothing item donated back to the rescue squad. The store is located at https://www.destinationathlete.com/teams/store.aspx?team=1908&dept=1917 and order must be placed by November 30.
Who does the race support?
All of their members are volunteers, serving South Orange as our primary area and also responding to Maplewood, Newark, Orange, and West Orange when requested. They respond to scores of emergency calls a each week, routinely saving lives and reducing suffering with a quicker-than-industry standard response and application of EMT skills.
In 2020, being an EMT means you are also responding constantly to calls involving COVID-19. South Orange Rescue Squad volunteers potentially put their lives on the line on every call, donning protective gear and employing techniques to aid patients and reduce their suffering. Over the last eight months, the South Orange Rescue Squad has responded to hundreds of these calls and continues to do so. Unprecedented levels of funds have been spent on supplies to keep their equipment clean and the EMTs and patients safe.
Amazingly, they do it for free. None of the members are compensated for their time working or training. The squad does not bill for services; every call will not cost the patient a cent and they do not bill insurance either. Resident tax dollars do not support the squad. How is the squad able to afford the equipment, the ambulances, the station, and the supplies? The answer is: through generous donations of the residents and business in South Orange and fundraising efforts, such as “The Frozen Fest for EMS.”
