Children’s Friend, Rhode Island’s oldest child welfare organization and a leading provider of child and family support, mental health and child development services, is getting ready for its 11th Annual Children’s Friend 5K Walk & Run sponsored by Panera Bread, Saturday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Roger Williams Park Boathouse, 1000 Elmwood Ave. in Providence. This year’s event will also feature fun activities for the kids, live entertainment and free breakfast and lunch from Panera Bread Catering. Registration for the 5K Walk & Run, to help fund the agency’s work with Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children, will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the opening ceremony is scheduled for 10. Participants are encouraged to arrive early to ensure a good parking spot. Doreen Scanlon from ABC6 will emcee this year’s event.  

Teams can be registered at www.childrensfriendri.org to start raising funds today. ‘Like’ Children’s Friend on Facebook at www.facebook.com/childrensfriendri. Participants can also donate right at the counter of any Panera Bread located in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. In exchange for a donation of $1 or more, customers receive a special Walk & Run wristband. 

This year’s Walk & Run will offer a variety of entertainment, including The Rhythm Room, which is a group that interweaves the power of percussion with dynamic vocals to create an explosive, captivating show for audiences of all ages, and Body Lingo, a Rhode Island-based pop-rock and dance group that has become popular thanks to its first single, “Yum Yum,” which reached #13 on the FMQB and DJ Times National Crossover Dance charts in 2012 and is now available on iTunes and amazon.com. Other children’s activities include face painting, a visit from the Roger Williams Zoomobile, a rock wall provided by the Rhode Island National Guard, fun exercise instructions, an inflatable obstacle course, sand art, and clowns courtesy of the Shriners.

For more details on how to participate and ways to become involved in the Children’s Friend Walk & Run, visit www.childrensfriendri.org and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/childrensfriendri.