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ABILENE, Texas – The third edition of Abilene Christian’s annual Hudson Wade 5K was its biggest to date in terms of participants and monies raised as more than 300 people came together last Saturday, Dec. 2, to generate several thousand dollars for the P4X (Play For Rex) Foundation.
This event, which is held in honor of the late Hudson Wade, has raised over $15,000 for various cancer-based charities since its inception in November 2015. The growth and popularity of which has amazed organizer Kyle Karnei.
“I’ve loved watching Hudson's and Rex's (Fleming) legacies impact the lives of people, many of whom they’ve never met,” said Karnei, a former Wildcat golfer who is pursuing his Master of Accountancy degree. “We also are thrilled that Hudson's story is still being told all over the community and nation.”
An Abilene native and son of ACU alumni Kirk and Laura Wade, Hudson passed away in February 2016 following a courageous five-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 11 years old when he was diagnosed with this rare strain several months earlier (September 2015), and the inaugural HW5K was quickly organized while he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments at Cook Children's.
The first HW5K netted $5,200, which was distributed between the Hudson Wade Family Foundation and Cure Search – a national non-profit foundation devoted to the search for cures for children's cancer. At the following year’s event, approximately $5,700 was donated to the Abilene-based P4X Foundation.
The P4X Foundation provides Apple iPod Touches and iTunes gift cards to pediatric cancer patients at Cook Children's Medical Center. The foundation also assists Abilene-area children and families at Meek Children's Medical Center at Hendrick Medical Center, the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, and Hendrick Hospice.
The X in P4X is Rex Fleming, who died in 2012 following a two-year battle with brain cancer. The Abilene community stood behind Rex while he was going through treatments and made t-shirts that read, "P4X," meaning Pray For Rex. After his death the "P" transitioned from "Pray" to "Play" when his parents Lance and Jill Fleming decided to start the P4X Foundation.
Lance Fleming is the Associate Director of Athletics for Media Relations at ACU.
“This event has grown significantly and it’s far exceeded anything I could have dreamt of on a very cold morning three years ago when we started this race,” added Karnei. “ACU SAAC is very pleased to use this event to provide support to all the great things that P4X does for our community. Josh Fink (current SAAC President) and I worked very closely in planning this year’s race and I know it’s in great hands moving forward.”
As part of the “Southland Gives Back” initiative, the Southland Conference will profile a community service outing from each of our 13 member institutions each weekday from Dec. 6 to 22.
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This event, which is held in honor of the late Hudson Wade, has raised over $15,000 for various cancer-based charities since its inception in November 2015. The growth and popularity of which has amazed organizer Kyle Karnei.
“I’ve loved watching Hudson's and Rex's (Fleming) legacies impact the lives of people, many of whom they’ve never met,” said Karnei, a former Wildcat golfer who is pursuing his Master of Accountancy degree. “We also are thrilled that Hudson's story is still being told all over the community and nation.”
An Abilene native and son of ACU alumni Kirk and Laura Wade, Hudson passed away in February 2016 following a courageous five-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 11 years old when he was diagnosed with this rare strain several months earlier (September 2015), and the inaugural HW5K was quickly organized while he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments at Cook Children's.
The first HW5K netted $5,200, which was distributed between the Hudson Wade Family Foundation and Cure Search – a national non-profit foundation devoted to the search for cures for children's cancer. At the following year’s event, approximately $5,700 was donated to the Abilene-based P4X Foundation.
The P4X Foundation provides Apple iPod Touches and iTunes gift cards to pediatric cancer patients at Cook Children's Medical Center. The foundation also assists Abilene-area children and families at Meek Children's Medical Center at Hendrick Medical Center, the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, and Hendrick Hospice.
The X in P4X is Rex Fleming, who died in 2012 following a two-year battle with brain cancer. The Abilene community stood behind Rex while he was going through treatments and made t-shirts that read, "P4X," meaning Pray For Rex. After his death the "P" transitioned from "Pray" to "Play" when his parents Lance and Jill Fleming decided to start the P4X Foundation.
Lance Fleming is the Associate Director of Athletics for Media Relations at ACU.
“This event has grown significantly and it’s far exceeded anything I could have dreamt of on a very cold morning three years ago when we started this race,” added Karnei. “ACU SAAC is very pleased to use this event to provide support to all the great things that P4X does for our community. Josh Fink (current SAAC President) and I worked very closely in planning this year’s race and I know it’s in great hands moving forward.”
As part of the “Southland Gives Back” initiative, the Southland Conference will profile a community service outing from each of our 13 member institutions each weekday from Dec. 6 to 22.
More...