{"id":214184,"date":"2026-04-29T15:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/214184\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:52:21","slug":"queens-centers-for-progress-hosts-2026-footsteps-for-progress-5k-run-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/214184\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Centers for Progress hosts 2026 Footsteps for Progress 5K run \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Runners \u2013 whether they\u2019d be professional or recreational \u2013 of all ages prepared themselves for a 5-kilometer, or 3.1-mile run, on a breezy Sunday morning around Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The run serves one goal in mind: to help make a difference in the lives of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, April 26, the Queens Centers for Progress<\/a> (QCP) held their annual Footsteps for Progress<\/a> technicolor run. The 5K run serves as a fundraiser, with proceeds going towards benefiting people with developmental disabilities. According to Wendy Gennaro, director of Development at QCP, they raised over $40,000 through this event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event has always been a [way] to bring people out into the community to kind of show them who QCP is, and what we do,\u201d said Gennaro. \u201cSo we really engage a lot of people from all over, and a lot of businesses and individuals in the community come out and support us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno<\/p>\n

The route circles all of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, starting and ending by the Unisphere. This year, they introduced \u201cColor Bash,\u201d where guests, at the end of the finish line, get sprayed with different colors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Runners got sprayed with different colors as they crossed the finish line. Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno<\/p>\n

Notable people in attendance included Council Members James Gennaro and Shanel Thomas Henry, who ran the 5k with her children. Sponsors include Stop and Shop, Arch Insurance, Northwell Direct and Mukti Petroleum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here to support [QCP], to hope that they raise enough money to keep their programs growing,\u201d said Susan Zelman, Community Relations and Charitable Giving member of Stop and Shop. \u201cAnd a lot of the individuals that actually go to the programs that QCP runs are
also employees of Stop and Shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stop and Shop also provided healthy snacks for runners and volunteers, such as bananas, mandarin oranges, bagels and water. They also had a spin-the-wheel giveaway, where guests could win items such as reusable bags.<\/p>\n

The first person to cross the finish line was Kevin Montalvo, a member of Queens Distance Runners<\/a>.
\n\"\"<\/a>Kevin Montalvo was the first runner to finish. Photo by Alice Moreno\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a relief when you finish because it\u2019s over,\u201d said Montalvo, after being asked how he felt being the first to cross the finish line. \u201cBut at the same time, I participate today more so to be an active participant in the footsteps for progress [run] and the amazing work that Wendy [Gennaro] and the team in the board have done in advancing and advocating for individuals with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kevin Montalvo. Photo by Alice Moreno<\/p>\n

When asked what he would like to accomplish with this event, he responded simply: \u201cI think I already accomplished it. I finished the race [and] had a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alice Moreno<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Runners \u2013 whether they\u2019d be professional or recreational \u2013 of all ages prepared themselves for a 5-kilometer, or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[84567,9,24,63,122,84568,124,123],"class_list":["post-214184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-footsteps-for-progress-5k","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-centers-for-progress","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}