Galderma, a Nestlé Skin Health company and maker of Cetaphil, a brand of cleansers and moisturizers, served as lead sponsor for the third annual Wonder Run benefiting Children’s Skin Disease Foundation. The Wonder Run race on Saturday, Oct. 7, had 524 runners in the 5K and 1K Children’s Kids Waddle and raised $68,000 for Camp Wonder.
The race started at the Martin House Brewery in downtown Fort Worth and went along the scenic Trinity Trails and Trinity River. Special guests at the race were Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and former Dallas Maverick Charlie Villanueva, an active supporter of Camp Wonder who also suffers from a chronic skin disease. Both Mayor Price and Villanueva ran the 5K, a Galderma press release stated.
“What this organization is doing for kids dealing with skin conditions is amazing and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Villanueva, who has visited kids at Camp Wonder. “I suffer from alopecia, and I hope today’s event creates awareness.”
He also posed for photos with campers and signed autographs.
CSDF works to improve the quality of life of children in the U.S. who suffer from painful, chronic and sometimes life-threatening skin diseases that affect not only their physical health but emotional well-being and self-esteem. Camp Wonder is an annual week-long sleep-away camp for children who would otherwise never get to experience camp because of the discomfort, pain, disfigurement, physical and medical limitations, and shame that accompany their skin diseases. Camp Wonder, including round-trip transportation to the California location, is free of charge for campers.
Miles Harrison, president and general manager of Nestlé Skin Health in North America, stated that The Wonder Run was created by Nestlé Skin Health employees and the initiative allows for an increase awareness about the physical, psychological and social implications of skin diseases, especially those in children. It also allows funds to be raised in a fun, family-friendly environment.
About 2,000 children have benefited from the Camp Wonder experience since it was founded in 2001. Since 2012, more than $768,000 in funds and in-kind donations have been provided to CSDF and Camp Wonder by Galderma.
“Galderma’s Cetaphil brand of cleansers and moisturizers is a long-time partner with Camp Wonder and provides a generous grant, employee volunteers and Cetaphil products both during the one-week camp and throughout the year to aide children’s skin health needs,” stated Francesca Tenconi, CSDF founder. “CSDF is incredibly fortunate to benefit from its generosity as well as its innovative medical solutions and investment in skin health research.”
Tenconi was diagnosed at age 11 with a rare skin disease and felt an organization was necessary to focus on the unique problems of children and teenagers who suffer from skin disease. For her 16th birthday, she didn’t ask for presents; she asked for donations and used those to create the foundation.
In addition to lead sponsors Cetaphil, Galderma and Nestlé Skin Health, Wonder Run sponsors include:
- Elite Circle: Lippe Taylor
- Diamond: D+R Lathian Healthcare Multichannel Marketing; Pharm Force; Schaefer Ad. Co.
- Platinum: AmeriPac; ERS Educational Resource Systems, Inc.; Trade Partners
- Gold: Catapult; Dermatology Times; Elicit; The Fitzgerald Family; The Griffin Family; InTouch Solutions; Knipper Healthcare Marketing Solutions; MB Health; Metavision Media; Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide; PSAV; Targetbase; Twist Mktg; Wheels; Todd Zavodnick
- Silver: The Baldwin Family; Coyote; DPAF Dermatology PA Foundation; Deutsch; Directions Research; DSGN; Everyday Health Inc. Professional; NCI Consulting; Runzheimer; SSCG Media Group; Symphony Health; Veeva
- Bronze: Beignet Bus; The Clark Family; Fee, Smith, Sharp & Vitullo, LLP; Fish Creek; PV Communications, Inc.
- In-Kind: Redstone Visual; Richardson Bike Mart
