Shane Kinsella Memorial Fund Event
Following the loss of a member of their family, a fund was established to support as many children in Goshen as possible — and one way to contribute to the effort is by participating in the upcoming Shane Kinsella Memorial 5K Run or 2M Walk.
Janet Hooper — grandmother of Shane Morehouse Kinsella, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 2008 — described the history of the race, which dates back about 15 years, and the Shane Morehouse Kinsella Children’s Fund. Local boy scout, Connor Ives, was working on earning his Eagle Award and this was his project.
“[Connor] was too shy to ask us, so he got his mother to ask us, would we like to help honor Shane by developing something?” Janet recalled, adding that it was going to be “a walk or run or something physical.”
Shane’s family members said “that would be an honor to us,” Janet recalled, and Ives got to work setting up a route for the first year of the race, and eventually went on to get his Eagle Award. Prior to the Shane Morehouse Kinsella Children’s Fund being established, funds raised at the race went to First Candle, which Janet described as a SIDS awareness organization.
“But then, as time passed, we kind of thought about, ‘Well, how do we set up some more permanent legacy to honor families, to honor loss, to honor exercise?’ and decided to develop a fund,” Janet said.
The Shane Morehouse Kinsella Children’s Fund — a “Special Revenue Fund of the Town of Goshen, Connecticut” — was established in 2019 by an ordinance passed at a Town Meeting. It offers assistance to children up to the age of 18 who reside in the Town of Goshen seeking financial aid to participate in extracurricular organizations, to organizations serving the needs of children in Goshen, and to meet “other needs individual children might have.”
“The whole point was to support children,” Janet said. A fund committee meets to review and consider requests, as well as emergency requests on a case-by-case basis. The committee determines the amounts of awards granted by the fund, which can fulfill all or part of a request.
“There are people who have needs and they can’t afford to send their kids to camp, or they can’t afford to send their kids to karate lessons or field hockey lessons or skiing up at the local ski mountain,” Janet said. “We do our best to give as much as we can to the families in need.”
To support the fund and its efforts, this year’s Shane Kinsella Memorial 5K Run or 2M Walk will take place on Saturday, April 25, at 291 Beach Street. Participants can sign up for a 5K run (which was previously a five-mile run and changed this year) or 2M walk.
“We emphasize that it’s a time of community support, community love, and family time,” Janet described. She explained that the Goshen Recreation Department took over organizing the event, with support from family members, community volunteers, and sponsors.
“We have a local guy named Frank who comes in, has a train horn that sounds like it could blast your ears out,” Janet said. “That’s the way we start the race every year, with his train horn.”
Janet mentioned family and community members who participate and help with the race, including Shane’s parents, Iain and Britton Kinsella; three siblings, Rowan, Maeve, and Ainsley; great uncle Dexter Kinsella and wife, Lauri Szpak; grandparents, Allen and Vicki Kinsella; as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins.
“Every year, Shane’s grandfather, Allen Kinsella, starts off … with stories and an overview of what this all means to the families,” Goshen Recreation Director Erin Reilly said. “It’s very touching and emotional, and he just does a great job thanking everybody and telling everybody how important this is to keep everything going and keep his memory alive.”
Prior to becoming Recreation Director in 2022, Reilly said she participated in most of the races as a community member: “I’ve been doing it for a while, but being behind the scenes, it’s really gratifying to see how much people give and how important it is to people to still take care of the children of Goshen.”
The 2M course, which follows Beach Street to Town Hill Road
before finishing at Dog Pond Road, was described on the race’s page as “a moderately hilly circular walking route.” The 5K course — described as a “hilly circular running route, mostly on roads” — follows a similar route, with an extension out and back along Ives Road.
On the day of the race, check in begins at 9 a.m., with a free Kid’s Fun Run scheduled to take place at 10:15 a.m. A timed 5K run and untimed 2M walk will start at 11 a.m.
Another effort that supports the fund through Goshen Recreation Department is a Craft Fair, which took place this year on February 7 at Kobylenski Lodge at Camp Cochipianee. Attendees were in
vited to “shop a variety of craft vendors,” with vendor fees going directly to the fund. There was also free coffee and hot cocoa, provided by Mitchell Gas Station.
The fund accepts donations throughout the year. When Janet’s husband, Carl, died last year, she said people also contributed to the fund.
“We’re very, very lucky to have this community behind us,” Janet said.
To sign up for the run or walk, visit runsignup.com/Race/CT/Goshen/ShaneKinsellaMemorialRun. For more information about the fund, visit goshenct.gov/recreation-department/pages/shane-kinsella-memorial-fund.
