The Virtual Rubin Run is a community-wide celebration and virtual fundraiser to support individuals with special needs at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. The event will take place between Thursday, May 7 through Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10 and feature Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K challenges as well as 1K Kids Fun Run for children ages 12 and under and an option to set a personal distance goal. As a virtual race, the Virtual Rubin Run can be run (or walked) from any location you choose. You can run, jog, or walk on the road, on the trail, on the treadmill, or on the track. You get to run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself.

The Rubin Run is more than a virtual race! It is an opportunity to honor a loved one who has been diagnosed with a developmental disability or autism, to help a family in need who will benefit from the JCC’s amazing programs and services, and for people of all ages and abilities to come together and celebrate our differences. Funds raised help the JCC to provide social, recreational, cultural and educational experiences for individuals in our community who are differently-abled and help improve their overall quality of life.

Begin your fundraising today: REGISTER

After registering as a Virtual Rubin Run participant, every KM (kilometer) logged from Thursday, May 7 to Mother’s Day, Sunday May 10 will count towards your target (5K, 10K, Half Marathon, 1K Kids Fun Run or a custom goal). To keep track of your KM, use a FitBit, download the free Strava or MapMyFitness apps, and your distance moved will be automatically updated on your fundraising page. Alternatively, you can log your distances manually by entering them onto your page.

Everyone! There are no restrictions on who can enter as an individual or a team. This event is open to the public. JCC Membership is not required to participate.

To register online, go to http://www.jccotp.org/rubinrun. Select “Register” and enter in all your participant information.

If you’ve already registered for the event, you do not need to sign-up again as the race you registered for initially has been automatically assigned as your distance goal for the virtual event. Feel free to contact us at rubinrun@jccotp.org if you have questions about your registration or would like to modify your distance goal. Please note that we are not offering refunds for this event at this time, but be assured that race registration fees support our overall fundraising goal and support our mission-based programming.

Because of circumstances surrounding the coronavirus crisis, the Virtual Rubin Run is not a competitive event and will not be professionally timed. This year’s event is about furthering your own fitness goals while staying connected as a community. We will not be awarding trophies to event participants at this year’s race, but we will be providing race bibs to all participants and finisher medals to children ages 12 and under who complete a challenge following the event.

If the 5K, 10K or Half Marathon options don’t work for you, then feel free to register for the Set My Own Distance Challenge. This entry type allows you to set a personal distance goal, but remember the Virtual Rubin Run is supposed to be a challenge, so don’t make it too easy!

The Kids Fun Run 1K challenge is exclusively for children ages 12 and under. If you would like to participate in a one mile distance challenge with your child(ren), we suggest that you register for the Set My Own Distance Challenge and set your personal goal to 1K, or you may feel free to register for a greater distance goal (whether it is a one of our preset goals or custom) and run a portion of that distance with your child(ren). Remember you have between May 7 -10 to log your distances and it all counts toward your overall goal.

Yes! If you would like to help the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades reach our $150,000 goal, but don’t want to participate in the Virtual Rubin Run, you can donate to our campaign. Head to the website (www.jccotp.org/rubinrun) to make a donation, or search for someone you know is participating and make their day by donating to their fundraiser!

At this time, we are not planning to reschedule an in-person Rubin Run event in 2020. We look forward to hosting this event again in 2021. Please join us as a virtual participant and raise money for the special needs programming at the JCC online.

Absolutely! Scooters, bicycles, treadmills, and stationary bikes– everything but driving a motorized vehicle counts! Just remember to log the distance you cover.

Of course! Rubin Run is an inclusive event. Just log the distances you cover each day between Thursday, May 7 - Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10!

The JCC is dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment that is warm and welcoming to all. Each year, we provide critical programs and services to individuals, from early childhood to adulthood, with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, neurological and cognitive impairments, communication and language differences and physical challenges. Through support from special events like the Virtual Rubin Run, the JCC is able to provide opportunities that increase an individual’s independent living and social and communication skills, as well as on improving overall health, wellness and quality of life through sports, recreation, art, music and equine therapy, and educational curriculum such as technology. 

The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades is 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are 100% tax-deductible as allowed by law.

There are several easy ways to donate:

Donate online via our Race Page: jccotp.org/rubinrun and select “Donate”

If you are making your donation on behalf of a specific team or individual participant, you can donate online via their fundraising page or by going to the Rubin Run donate page and selecting a Fundraiser to donate to.

While contributions can be made by check, it is important to note that while our facility is closed it may take us longer to process and acknowledge any payments received by mail. We are still able to receive mail while we are closed. If you would still like to make your contribution via check, please make it payable to Kaplen JCC on the Palisades and mail to: 

Attn: Rubin Run
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
Taub Campus
411 E. Clinton Avenue
Tenafly, NJ 07670

*If you’re making a donation in someone’s honor, please be sure to enclose a note that the donation is on their behalf 

PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH IN THE MAIL

When a donor gives online, they will receive a receipt via email to the email address provided on the donation form. All other acknowledgment letters will be emailed to donors after completion of the event. We are happy to provide hard copies of acknowledgement letters upon request once our doors have re-opened.

Make sure your donors know that they need to be on your fundraising page when they make a donation online for it to be credited to your fundraising efforts. If they are unable to donate online, please have them email us at rubinrun@jccotp.org to provide their payment information and let us know that the donation is on your behalf.

If someone donates to your fundraiser and you weren’t credited for the donation, please contact us at rubinrun@jccotp.org to have your donation properly attributed. In order to assign proper credit to your personal fundraising page you must set up your Everyday Hero fundraising page after registering for the event.

We’re so grateful for your fundraising efforts and sorry you are unable to participate. Unfortunately, we are not offering refunds for the event at this time. Please be assured all donations and fees go towards mission-based programming at the JCC.

All donations are tax-deductible in the same calendar year your donation was processed to the extent allowed by law. Please work with your tax professional to determine what deductions you are eligible for.

Teams are made up of family, friends and/or coworkers all fundraising and participating together under one team name.

Starting a team is easy. Register your team today by visiting http://www.jccotp.org/rubinrun and selecting the "Register" button. Then choose CREATE A NEW TEAM & REGISTER, as the first of your team to register you will be the team Captain. You may register others to your team as long as you can provide their personal (unique) email addresses for each member of the team. If you don’t have your team members information, then can sign up on their own selecting JOIN A TEAM & REGISTER during registration and searching for your name or the team’s name. Once you register, set a goal for how much you want to raise - then start asking! Encourage all your team members to help meet your team goal.

We recommend that a team consist of 10-12 people who raise a minimum of $180 per person. But we leave the size of your team up to you!

Companies can participate by becoming a corporate sponsor, organizing teams of employees to raise funds and run, and/or participating as vendor in our Health Expo. For more information, please contact rubinrun@jccotp.org.

No. Team participation is encouraged among families and friends as well.

Corporate donations are encouraged, but not required. The majority of contributions will be generated by your individual team members. However, corporate matching gifts can enhance employee fundraising efforts. Talk to your human resource representative for more information about employee matching gift programs.