By Mary Stadnyk |Associate Editor

For the fourth consecutive year, Labor Day was a time to ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ around St. Charles Borromeo Parish and School.

Since 2010, the sprawling Cinnaminson campus has bustled on this popular end-of-the-summer holiday with parishioners and folks from surrounding communities and beyond joining in the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Run Back to School. It’s a festive morning event complete with athletic races and entertainment, sponsored by the school PTA board as a way to help raise funds for the school.

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Angie Wojnar, who coordinated the event with her husband, Rich, said this year, more than $4,000 was raised and drew the largest number of participants to date. The various races included the 5K run for both “recreational and more serious runners;” the One-Mile Fun Run/Walk which was “great for kids and families,” and the “Kids Dash.” Other highlights featured entertainment, music and food and activities for younger children such as making crafts and creating balloon art, face painting and jumping around in the moon bounce.

Wojnar, who is the mother of four children, including three who are students in St. Charles Borromeo School, said that the popular Rock ‘n’ Roll Run Back to School began in 2010 as a small 5K and one-mile race fundraiser for school families. Last year, however, when Wojnar and her husband, who is a “serious runner,” volunteered to organize the event, the couple looked for ways to broaden its scope to make it more of a “community event to kick off back-to-school.”

“We changed the course, added new events and a ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ theme with music and fun kid activities,” Wojnar said.

With increased publicity, the number of participants doubled to 150. And, this year, by opening the event to other communities, the number of participants again doubled – this time to 300 which included a mix of school families, parishioners, and people from other surrounding towns.

Wojnar said that cash awards and prizes are given to the top three overall male and female winners in the 5K and One Mile Races and the top three winners in each age group in the 5K and One Mile. All children 14 years of age and under who participate in the event also receive a custom medal with a special prize for the youngest participant in the “Kids Dash.”

Wojnar acknowledged the lengthy list of supporters of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Run Back to School including the “amazing team of volunteers,” as well as the sponsorship from local companies and businesses.

To learn more about the Rock ‘n’ Roll Run Back to School event, visit http://runbacktoschoolcom or https:// www.facebook.com/RunBackToSchool.