Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


An upcoming fundraiser will honor and celebrate the lives of children lost too soon.

The 7th Annual Miles for Smiles 5k/10k event will take place on Saturday, August 3rd at Howell High School.

It’s hosted by Julianna’s Wishes, a non-profit organization created after Julianna Ward-Brown was killed in a car crash on February 6th, 2018 while on her way to hockey practice. Julianna was a junior at Howell High School, an honor student, and also played on the Girls Varsity Tennis Team.

Julianna’s Wishes provides support and resources to children, youth, and families suffering from the loss of loved ones and/or financial hardship - allowing them to find hope, healing, encouragement, and connections through shared experiences.

Stephen Ward-Brown and his parents started the charity and event to honor children and youth in the community who have passed away too soon. He told WHMI it aims to celebrate their lives and create a positive and fun atmosphere for everyone in the community to be a part of. Ward-Brown said “Julianna was a bright light who cared about others, so they use the charity to help the community in ways that keep her memory alive”.

Ward-Brown further encouraged people to come out as this will be the final Miles for Smiles event for a couple of years and they want to “go out with a bang”. He said the event really took off from the start and has become a pretty big summer staple in the community but there are a lot of 5k/10k type events. Ward-Brown said they’ll be taking a hiatus to try and change up the event and do something different in future years.

Ward-Brown said people can register online up until the event, or on-site. He said they’ll have food, fun gifts and swag bags, as well as the popular collector bracelets that will be pink this year.

Ward-Brown stressed everything raised goes right back into the community to various causes.

To date, he says they’ve given out 57 scholarships to Howell High School seniors, constructed a celebration of life garden at the Howell Library, donated to the Youth Connection Center and Animal Shelter in the area, as well as funding the first girl’s high school hockey team in the area, Livingston United, among others.

Links to register for Miles for Smiles and the Julianna’s Wishes Facebook page are provided. An event flyer is attached.