Team Iris Fund is thrilled to have more than doubled in size since the last running of the Ridgefield Half Marathon in 2019, with a team of 37 strong for this year’s event. We are so grateful to our team who turned out this past Sunday, October 17 to run our beautiful fall Ridgefield streets with us! The incredible Ridgefield Running Company did it again - they pulled off an amazing half marathon and seven-mile race with 700 registered runners!
The Iris Fund would like to extend our special thanks to the following businesses for their generosity:
o Mike Principi (owner of Chez Lenard) and Brittney Crystal (Founder of The Iris Fund) are both natives to Ridgefield. When The Iris Fund had the opportunity to provide food after the race to the runners, there was only one place we wanted to work with. A Ridgefield race needs an iconic Ridgefield establishment serving the food, so Chez Lenard was our first choice. The race would not be the same without the support of Mike and his wife, Chrissy.
o Mary Phelps & Team with William Pitt Sotheby’s whose entire team strapped on their sneakers to run with us! We could not be more grateful.
o Addessi Jewelers for kicking off our fundraising efforts with a generous $1,000 donation toward our pre-term birth research. We solely support the doctors and engineers at Columbia University who are answering the question of what triggers full term labor - to eventually stop it from occurring early - preventing preterm birth.
o Ridgefield Running Company so generously sponsored the 'last starter' promotion! Hilary Hughes ran for Team Iris Fund and passed 440 runners, which meant that Ridgefield/Darien Running Company will donate $440 to The Iris Fund! Thank you, Ridgefield Running Company!!
o Our national sponsors! Britax Child Safety, Inc. has partnered with The Iris Fund all month long to raise awareness during Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. To that end, they've donated strollers and a car seat to the Fund which have been distributed across the country. This enabled our first ever social media campaign and Britax even featured our founder, Brittney Crystal on one of their "Why We Run," interviews - giving a necessary spotlight to a conversation that is so often not spoken about! Thank you, Britax!
We're a Ridgefield charity that is making an impact thanks to the incredible support of this amazing town!
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. The Iris Fund was started by Ridgefield resident Brittney Crystal with the shock that women’s bodies are not better understood during even 'normal' labor and a passion to bridge that research gap - which will save and improve outcomes for babies. Brittney’s baby died being born. Her name was Iris. Her legacy was born right after and her family stands with the amazing women across so many organizations that are working to make it better for the next generation.