On Saturday December 20, 2014 at 9:00 am. the annual Egg Nog Jog will be held. The jog has been held before the holiday break for the past three years. LHS student Patrick Duboyce created the Egg Nog Jog as an SGA special event.

The registration fee is $10 or a new toy. The jog is a two-mile holiday-themed race, Every quarter mile, participants drink egg nog, which increases the difficulty and excitement of the run. (The egg nog is optional.) The $10 fee will be donated to the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Unit as well as the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society to help fund research of blood diseases.

Last year, the Jog made over $14,000 due to a 2001 Lingore graduate making a generous donation. The donor matched the $7,000 made, making the grand total raised $14,000. There were over 300 people who participated in the Egg Nog Jog last year. The 2014 Egg Nog Jog on Saturday has 177 pre-registered participants and around 40 people volunteering to help out. The race director emeritus, John Grim, has been preparing the 3k course. One of the events sponsors is Wegmans and they kindly supplied the 40 gallons of Egg Nog for the race.

“Duboyce wanted to do something fun but also wanted it to be an event that would help others,”  said Janet Ingram, parent of Quentin Ingram and Head Cheerleading Coach.

The Egg Nog Jog is not only a fun event; it’s a fundraiser in memory of Ingram’s son, Quentin, was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) in 2003 and passed away at age nine in 2004. Leukemia is a form of blood cancer common in many children. After Quentin’s death, Ingram and her husband started a toy drive to give toys to the Johns Hopkins Pediatric unit. The toy drive is held every winter.

When Quentin was hospitalized at the Johns Hopkins Childrens Center, he loved to spend most of his time in the hospital playroom.  However, he would always tell his mom how they needed ‘better toys.’ After Quentin’s passing, Ingram decided to make his wish come true and start the toy drive for the Johns Hopkins pediatric unit.

“Quintin loved to play sports and he always brought smiles to people’s faces,” says Ingram. Quentin had a bone marrow transplant which was a success; then soon after, he got an infection in the hospital and ended up in the ICU for seven weeks. Within that time period is when they decided to do the toy drive.

Through the toy drive, Johns Hopkins has gained hundreds of toys. The toys that are donated to oncology are not only used in the playroom but are used in the teen rooms in both the inpatient and outpatient oncology units and are also able to be used as holiday gifts and, sometimes,birthday gifts.

Jennifer Seiler, child life specialist in the pediatric oncology clinic at Hopkins says, “The drive helps to ensure that each family has gifts to open around the holiday season.”

If you are interested in donating, “Teens, mostly boys are often forgotten during this time of year, but the most useful toys are the ones that any kid can play with such as blocks, cars, dolls, action figures etc,” says Seiler.