NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon 2026

If you know me, you know I hate running. But this is for something special.

The mission of The 52nd Street Project, a community-based arts organization, is to bring together kids from Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, starting at age nine and lasting through their teens, with theater professionals to create original theater offered free to the general public. By building on the core experience of accomplishment and collaboration, the Project fosters a sense of inclusion in a place where the children belong and where their creative work is the driving force. Through long-term mentoring relationships and exposure to diverse art forms (including Poetry, Photography, Theatrical Design, Dance, and Filmmaking), the Project seeks to expand the children’s means of expression and to improve their literacy, their life skills and their attitude towards learning.

My first experience with the project was in 2018 when I was a sophomore in highschool and came to NY for a theatre event which was held in the 52nd Project's Five Angels Theatre. I remember walking up the prop-filled stairs looking at every single one, waiting in the blue room staring out the window at the city, and even dissociating when I would stand in the theater as, in the moment, I didn't believe the life of theater could be for me. After spending a mere three days performing at the project, it was enough convincing for myself that I really did enjoy creating on- & off- the stage, enough to switch path from strictly mechanical engineering to a broader interest in the theater world, earning my BFA in Acting. Those two sides of me have now blended into who I am today. Finding myself back in a familiar building that I never expected to see again, and now employed as Production Manager to make the props that continue inspired me.

I hope this has inspired you to help fund this magnificent place. :)