An official Charity Team of the
Bank of America
CHICAGO MARATHON
2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
- Sunday, October 8, 2023
Run for a mission that matters--Change a child's story from abuse and neglect to safety and well-being
Team CASA is accepting applications to be on our charity team for the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon! Members of our team use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children in the Cook County foster care system who have experienced abuse and/or neglect. We are grateful to the Bank of American Chicago Marathon who has selected CASA of Cook County as a charity team who is allocated some of the 10,000 slots that are reserved for charity runners who agree to raise funds in exchange for a guaranteed marathon entry.
Team CASA runners are asked to reach for the goal of raising $2,500, or the cost of providing CASA services for one child in foster care for one year. Runners directly impact the lives of children who will receive individual advocacy in court by a trained CASA volunteer. The advocacy that they receive has been shown to shorten the time they are in foster care and ensure they receive needed medical, educational, and social services while in care. The ultimate goal of CASA is to help each child find a safe, permanent home. The trajectory of these children’s lives are changed because they have a committed adult CASA volunteer who is with them throughout the most traumatic time in their lives.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon requires that charity runners understand that their guaranteed entry into the event is in exchange for their commitment to raise a minimum of $1,750 for the charity. All charity runners must also comply with all charity rules and regulations.
Does Team CASA sound like the right charity team for you?
Here is what you need to know and do:
1. Click on the Join Team CASA button, and share your name and email.
2. We will send you a Team CASA Runner Agreement with all the details you need to know before you commit to our team, which includes acknowledging fundraising minimums and timelines for raising funds.
3. Once accepted, Team CASA members will be given access to the marathon registration portal where they must pay their own registration fee and set up their fundraising page.
4. Team CASA members are not officially registered for the marathon until they raise their first $200. Team CASA members are only officially registered for the 2022 Bank of America Marathon when they have completed all steps and received registration notification directly from the marathon.
Please direct any questions about Team CASA or corporate sponsorship opportunities to James McIntyre at james.mcintyre@casacookcounty.org.
meet
TEAM CASA

Adam Sherer
I live in the western suburbs of Chicago with my wife and 4 children, which includes two foster sons. As foster parents, our family has seen first hand what a

Allie Cetina
My family has always loved CASA’s mission to support youth in the foster care system. My mom works for CASA of DuPage and I want to support youth who have

Ashlyn Bigelow
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Becca Neil
CASA means a lot to me as I was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and spent many hours volunteering with this amazing organization. I am so proud to

Bianca Aguirre
I’ve been training for the last 4 years to run a full marathon. I chose Team CASA to run for because my mother and her siblings grew up in and

Brigette Atcheson-Demke
I’m Chicagoland born and raised, and I’ve been running for about 12 years, from a time when I couldn’t run even a single mile at a time. I got into

Christina Ochs
I lead a financial consulting firm and am an outdoor enthusiast and runner. I am also honored to serve on the board of CASA of Cook County.

Dan Bigelow
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
I went to college at Northwestern and often volunteered in Chicago. I fell in love with the city and wanted to give back any way I could. Then I found

Dana Grinde
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Emma Stein
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Gabrielle Vickers
I’m running with Team CASA because I believe in the important work they do and in their mission. Working in family court in the Bronx, I‘ve seen firsthand how CASA

Grace Sullivan
Hi! My name is Grace and I am a Kindergarten teacher on the West side of Chicago. After school, I have a fitness club for 1st-3rd graders and coach 5th/6th

Hayley Topel
I recently moved from Chicago to Upper Michigan and got more into running since the move, deciding to challenge myself to run my first marathon. I wanted to run to

Herbert Perez
I am an avid jogger, and decided to run the Chicago marathon & help out Team CASA and the children. I was made aware of this by my Son who

James Buscemi
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Jay Grinde
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Katherine Morgan
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Kathy Fujinaka
Hello! My name is Kathy and I have been running for 20ish years, in some shape or form. I have 2 young kids that I have been chasing since they

Koryna Bucholz
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

Mark Rogers
I used to do cross country racing in Ireland, where I grew up and I’m delighted to represent CASA at my first ever marathon. I first went to a CASA

Matthew Dawes
I am running for the CASA of Cook County as a thank you. I was introduced to the CASA organization a couple of years ago through a close family friend,

Maureen Balakrishnan
I am running the Chicago Marathon to support the organization CASA of Cook Country. Casa (Court Appointed Special Advocates) has a mission of providing advocacy for foster children, ensuring their

Max Sauers
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children

McKenzi Melching
For the past year, I have served as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for a child in the overburdened child welfare system. As a CASA volunteer, I advocate for

Sheila Novotny
I chose to run for Team CASA because I know how important the program is to the kids. I volunteered as an Guardian Ad Litem here in Jacksonville, Florida for

Tate Alvarez
I chose to join Team CASA because I believe in the organization and its impact. CASA of Cook County tirelessly advocates for the rights and well-being of abused and neglected

Taylor Thomas
I began supporting CASA in college as it was my sorority’s selected charity. Through college I spent time volunteering at the local CASA; this is where I realized the importance

Travis Perez
Team CASA members use the incredible experience of training for and running one of the world’s largest marathons to raise awareness and funds for the most vulnerable individuals in Chicago–children