LAURINBURG — The Onyx Alejandro Stelly Foundation will be holding its first-ever 5K Run/Walk on July 24 at the James L. Morgan Recreation Complex from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The event will feature vendors, food trucks, and a wide variety of games — some of the vendors include jewelry, Italian ice deserts, and many different variations of food trucks.
Ingrid Stelly and Marilyn Castrejon Stelly, head of the non-profit OAS foundation, will be orchestrating the event. The Run/Walk will be held in honor of their still born child Onyx Alejandro, as well as other families who have felt the heartache of losing a child in the way their did. There will also be a balloon release at 7 p.m. in the memory of fallen children.
The event is open to anyone.
The foundation, which is running the event on its own, is still looking for vendors, and sponsors to help fund the event, as well as bringing “awareness & acknowledgment” to the local Laurinburg community and beyond.
According to Marilyn Castrejon Stelly, one of the founders of the OAS foundation, stated that there are “no official” sponsors as of yet. The organization is welcoming all sponsors of all sorts to get involved. The goal of the organization is to “give the broken-hearted families time to start the healing process,” by showing love and appreciation through the local community.
The story behind the OSA Foundation is a heartbreaking, yet inspiring one in the same sense.
On July 24, 2020, Onyx Alejandro was born without heartbeat. The night before they were told that there was no heartbeat found, but the Stelly family still had high in hopes of a miracle through prayer. But he wasn’t able to survive.
The family was still able to see their child, hold him, and even get samples of his hair, hand and footprints, to remember his presence forever. From that point forward, the family was inspired to start the foundation to help other families that have had similar situations and raise awareness for still born babies and the heartache that is causes.
“This event is very special to us as it represents our son’s first birthday. We would appreciate if the community would come together for this meaningful occasion and help us provide support for families that suffer a similar loss,” said Ingrid and Marilyn Stelly. “Since our experience, we’ve been made aware of so many parents who have suffered the hurt of losing a baby, no matter how big they were. We want them to know they are thought of and truly missed.”
The family also spoke on the future of the foundation, stating that “as the foundation grows, we hope to one day help couples struggling to become parents. As this how we came up with our saying, ‘Missing, loving, and living for our babies.’ We appreciate all the support we’ve been shown so far. A huge thank you to all.”
Anyone interested in being a vendor or sponsor can contact Ingrid Stelly at 910-551-2223 or Marilyn Castrejon Stelly at 910-835-6187. Those who would like to donate financially to the organization and event can email them at OnyxAlejandroStelly@gmail.com.
Hunter Locklear is a summer intern from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.