b'workofmore than20food pantriesandShow Off Your Home community part-nersthroughoutwith FlowersEssex County. Lituchyal-ready had plenty ofexperience organizingracesWe all want to love where we live. Flowers and such as the popu- live plants are a great way to freshen up your lar10Daysofspace as part of your everyday decorwhether 10Ks event seriesyoure staying put or are thinking of selling. toraisemoney forMEND.Lituchy organized the popular 10 Days of 10Ks event series to TheSOMAFoxraise money for MEND.Chasewhose logo,createdbylocalartistShaunafamilyand that gets members access Cagan,isanimageofapluckyfoxtoaprivateFacebookgroup,weekly wearing a maskattracted more thanemails, discounts on running gear, and a dozen runners, prompting Lituchyalltheclubruns.Merchandiseand and Shiau to begin talking about whatspecial events cost extra.else they might do. ThegroupdesignatedMENDas Wewantedtocreatesomethingitsofficialcharitypartner,pledging structured for the running communi- to donate a percentage of all race and ty, said Shiau, explaining that comingmerchandise proceeds to the organiza-from the city where she had run withtion, and adopted Cagans artwork as theNewYorkRoadRunnersclub,its logo, adding one thing to her fox which puts on the marathon, she was bright red running sneakers.looking for something like the Dash- We didnt want to be sexy foxes, ing Whippets Running Team or NewexplainedLituchy.Wedidntwant York Flyers.tobeoverlyfeminineormasculine, ByJanuary2021,thepairhadeither. We wanted to be ridiculous andFor tips on beautifying your home, give us a call. foundedtheSOMAFoxRunningscruffy and open to all. Between the two of us, we have the expertise to Club, with Lituchy taking the helm asBeingopentoallwasofthees- make your home a showpiece.executive director. The group is nowsence, Lituchy said. There were already incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofitnumerous running groups in SOMA, organization and is an official memberincluding Will Run for Coffeean all- I know flowers I know homesof the Road Runners Club of Americafemale social running group in which (RRCA), a national distance-runningLituchy, Shiau and many of the clubs organization that offers insurance andboard of directors had previously run support to local running clubs.together; as well as Sole Runners; the The cost is minimaljust $35 an- MapSoTriClub;AfterPartyTribe; nually for an individual or $50 for aSassquadTrailRunning;andBlack Edith Villavicencio Joanne WatkinsGarden of Edith Realtor Sales AssociateFloral Design Keller Williams54 South Orange Ave. Mid-Town Direct Realty South Orange 973.986.2606973.327.4241 joannewatkinshomes gardenofedithfd.com @gmail.comThe SOMA Fox Running Club has donated $2,290 to MEND in the last year, raised through a variety of events and community-building efforts.feature story /19'