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Dennis Conley gladly supports the causes he's passionate about. He identified one that hits close to home for Sunday's Minute Man Races in Westport. Conley, a Fairfield resident who works in Norwalk, is running to raise funds for The Den for Grieving Kids. His father, Harold, a Georgetown volunteer firefighter, died on Jan. 3, 1978, from injuries sustained battling a blaze in Danbury on Dec. 31, 1977.
"I'm thinking of my father in a lot of things that I do,'' Conley said. "This particular event is tied to his legacy, so it will certainly be on my mind. I have some friends who are also running the race to support me and the cause." Conley is running the 5K on Sunday. The race also includes a 10K and a children's run.
This is the first year Minute Man organizers instituted Run for A Cause, which allows runners to choose a charity. The runner asks supporters to donate, and the money goes directly to the charity. Conley selected the Den for Grieving Children, a bereavement resource center that has been serving Fairfield and Westchester Counties for the past 15 years. In the past year alone, The Den touched the lives of 1,378 people through support groups, outreach presentations, crisis interventions and professional consultations to schools, businesses and community organizations.
"Back then there wasn't much of a support system,'' says Dennis, who is also the president of the Ski Bears, a social and recreational activities club based in Norwalk. "We had to depend on families and friends for a lot of support. Now there are support systems so I'm going to try to help out." He remembers trying to fight through the emotional upheaval after his father's death with little support outside of his family and friends. "I was a 7-year-old kid who thought I had to be the man of the house,'' he says.
There is still time to support Conley's cause here. Runners can also still register for Sunday's races here.
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