Yamaha Cares Raises $142,000 for CHOC Children’s

For the 10th consecutive year, Yamaha Cares participated in the Southern California Half Marathon and 5K races to raise money for Type 1 juvenile diabetes research at CHOC Children’s (CHOC).

With the help of Yamaha Cares, the event raised $32,000, bringing the grand total of overall donations to more than $142,000.

“This fundraising effort was our most successful ever,” said David Jewell, marketing communications manager, Yamaha Corporation of America. “It is wonderful to have so much participation from our community, supporting such a worthy cause.”

Jewell is personally invested in the cause as his daughter Katrina was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes when she was just 13. He wanted to do something grassroots to raise money for research, so he asked his running pals and some industry people to join him in the race.

A concurrent CrowdRise campaign, KatrinaKures, was conducted to encourage online donations, while more than 100 people attended a post-race celebration. Local merchants The Corner Bakery in Anaheim Hills and Tempo Urban Kitchen in Brea donated the food for the event. Manheim Car Auction in Anaheim was a new sponsor this year and raised more than $8,000. For the silent auction, Inspire Fitness donated a home gym and three high-end swing sets for adults that raised $5,500. All the money raised for CHOC goes directly to research.