Allied Services Integrated Health System has been honored to have been an official charity of the internationally renowned ING New York City Marathon since 2010. As WNEP-TV’s Ryan Leckey and his team of local runners have run through the five boroughs of New York, they have also raised funds for and awareness of children and adults with disabilities in Northeastern Pennsylvania who are served by Allied Services. They are now preparing for the 2012 race.

The Beginning

When Allied Services received word that it had been selected as a community charity in 2010, they needed a well known community member to lead the team. Ryan Leckey, reporter for WNEP-TV, the ABC affiliate in Scranton, came right to mind. Ryan had the athletic skills, the community following, and most importantly, the energy to lead the team to the finish line.

Community charity status meant that Ryan and four other runners would participate to raise funds for Allied Services. The project almost came to a halt when Ryan sustained a sports injury during training for the marathon. Ironically, Ryan became a patient of Allied Rehab before he ever ran for the organization. After being treated by Director of Physical Therapy Cathy Guzzi, he was in shape in time for the race.

With the support of local businesses, schools and individuals, the team raised more than $120,000 for children with disabilities served by Allied Services. Ryan’s Run also raised awareness for conditions such as autism, for which rehabilitation services are often not covered by insurance. Allied Services treats children with autism without regard for their insurance status or their parents’ ability to pay.

Earning the Bronze

Due to the success of the first Ryan’s Run, Allied Services was thrilled to learn that it had been upgraded to official Bronze Charity Status from the NYC Marathon organizers, the New York Road Runners. This placed Ryan’s Run alongside national charities such as Wounded Warriors, American Heart Association, Livestrong (The Lance Armstrong Foundation), and Stand Up 4 Cancer, and gave Allied 15 more spots on the Ryan’s Run Team.

Advanced Technology

On November 4, 2011, Ryan Leckey and 19 area runners competed in the NYC Marathon, raising more than $226,000 for Allied Services. The overwhelming success of the campaign enabled Allied Services to purchase two Bioness Zero-Gs, the world’s most advanced overground gait and balance training system. This means that patients at Allied Rehab in Scranton and Heinz Rehab in Wilkes Barre have access to cutting-edge rehab technology, which suspends patients and bears a percentage of their weight as they recover from stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions. The system allows patients to begin standing and walking earlier in their rehabilitation, which has been shown to improve outcomes. Allied Rehab and Heinz Rehab are among the only rehab facilities in the region with the ZeroG™ technology.

The focus of the Ryan’s Run campaign is technology. Allied Services Integrated Health System is committed to continuously acquiring state-of-the-art equipment that allows its therapists to offer the finest rehabilitation services in the region. Allied Rehab and Heinz Rehab are rated in the top 4% of rehab hospitals nationwide, according to Uniform Data Systems, an independent rating organization. Team Leckey and all the donors to contribute to its success will help Allied Services stay on track and keep winning

Getting Ready for the 2012 Race

Now in its third year, the Ryan’s Run campaign is once again an official Bronze charity of the ING New York City marathon. The Team Leckey runners are in training and the campaign is being supported by returning major sponsors Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Northeastern Rehabilitation Associates, Jack Williams Tire Center,  and first-time major sponsors FNCB, Parente Beard LLC, Weis Markets and Ronald McDonald House Charities.