Hundreds Remember Kim and Tim Donnelly at Race in Fairfield

Hundreds of people attended the Donnelly Dash Community Challenge on April 14, 2019 at Tomlinson Middle School in Fairfield. The annual run and walk is held in memory of Kim and Tim Donnelly who owned a jewelry store on the Post Road in Fairfield until their passing. Many of the participants were members of the Donnelly family, friends and local residents. First Selectman Michael Tetreau, State Representatives Cristin McCarthy Vahey and Brenda Kupchick and Probate Judge Kate Neary Maxham were among the many community leaders at the event.

Tara Donnelly Gottlieb, Tim and Kim's daughter, welcomed all the participants and thanked them for their support of her family and her parents. First Selectman Michael Tetreau noted that next year will be the 15th Anniversary of the race so he hoped that everyone would return to remember Kim and Tim Donnelly and what they meant to the Town of Fairfield.

According to race organizers, the goal of the event is to celebrate the lives of Tim & Kim Donnelly and to remember the spirit and heart that they shared with the community. They had a long lasting and loving effect on everyone who met them and the many who shopped in their family jewelry store. Since 2012 the Donnelly Dash has supported the Fairfield Police Explorers Post and the Fairfield Police Union Scholarship Fund with donations from the event.

This year, in memory of Tim and Kim, and the thousands of lives lost each year to gun violence, there is a new additional partnership. MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence that is also benefiting from the event. Moms Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country.

Among the many local businesses supporting the event was Jersey Mike's of Fairfield.