FAAN Walk co-chairs thank all who helped

The city of Long Branch hosted the second annual Food Allergy& AnaphylaxisNetwork (FAAN) Walk for Food Allergy on Sept. 12. Despite the rain, nearly 1,000 people came out to walk along the boardwalk.

Upon our 6 a.m. arrival, the storm's disturbance to the beach was staggering. Although a tremendous amount of sand washed onto the boardwalk area, in some areas maybe 2 feet deep, we calmly went about setting up at the Great Lawn. We knew from experience (last year there was a hurricane the day before the event) that Fred Migliaccio, director of Public Works, along with his staff, would be working to have the area cleaned up and all facilities operational in time for the walkers.

We would like to say thank you because from the beginning, we were met with positive, friendly professionals at the city of Long Branch, the Long Branch Police Department, the Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Adam Schneider, and state Sen. Sean Kean of the 11th District.

We would also like to extend our great appreciation for other prominent members of our community whose efforts helped make this walk so successful: News 4 New York reporter Brian Thompson; Frank Dicopoulos, star of television's longest-running soap opera "Guiding Light"; Dr. Andrew Hirsch of Allergy and Asthma Associates; and singer/songwriter mr. RAY — Ray Andersen.

A special thank you to all our volunteers and our returning local sponsors, Greater Media Newspapers, Lester Glenn Auto Group, Dean's Natural Food Market, Wegmans, Comcast, American Bounce Factory and Look What I Can Do.

More than 12 million Americans have food allergies, and 3 million of them are children. Food allergies can be deadly. We walk to raise public awareness while raising money to find a cure. Thank you for making this an exceptional experience.

Jo Ann Molnar,

Veronica Scanlon,

Cheri Golub

Long Branch Walk Co-Chairs

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Walk for Food Allergy