Meet the 8-year-old from Redeemer East Side who ran for his neighbors in need

It started when 8-year-old Rider Creasy saw a homeless woman sitting with her child in Times Square.

“It made me feel really sad,” Rider said, “because I thought that it would be really hard to take care of your child in the street with no food and no bed.”

So when Rider, who attends Redeemer East Side with his parents John and Carrie, heard about the Hope for New York Charity Run at church, he saw an opportunity to use what he loves to do to care for his neighbors.

He joined the HFNY Runners — a team of more than 80 runners from Redeemer and churches across the city — as its youngest member, and rallied his family and friends to raise over $1,600 to support programs serving New Yorkers in need.

“I think that God gave me the opportunity to help poor people by running HFNY’s 5K,” he wrote on his Charity Run fundraising page. “He made me a really good runner and I really like to do it.”

The HFNY Charity Run, which took place on March 17 on Roosevelt Island, also included runners from Downtown, East Side, Lincoln Square (“LSQ Heels of Steel”), and West Side (“WESTSIDE/BESTSIDE”). Together, the HFNY Runners raised over $50,000 to support programs of Hope for New York’s 50 non-profit affiliates, which include jobs skills training, youth mentoring, and food and shelter for men and women experiencing homelessness.

“I think the Bible tells us that we should love our neighbors as ourselves,” Rider wrote. “God does not only love the people that have homes. He loves everybody even if they don’t have money for dinner and also the people who have more than thousands of dollars. I guess I have neighbors like both of those kinds of people and I think God wants me to love them all.”

We are so thankful for Rider and his teammates for using their legs and their voices to love and serve their neighbors in need!

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Articles in this Issue

		Beethoven and Jesus Harrison Hollingsworth, Downtown AM Music Director
		An Evening with Marilynne Robinson
		Equipped to serve: New Diaconate candidates grow in their knowledge of mercy Jenny Chang
		Thank you for giving to bring hope this Easter!