Inspiring hope: Clarks Summit Goes Pink Inaugural 5K Run and Walk planned

This month, Clarks Summit will turn pink to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. The Inaugural Clarks Summit Goes Pink is scheduled for Aug. 15, with a 5K race and fun walk starting at 10 a.m.

Clarks Summit Goes Pink is a newly formed nonprofit launched in September 2025 by Scott and Colleen Shimko, along with several friends who serve on the organization’s board. The group formed the idea after attending a similar event, Dewey Goes Pink in Dewey Beach, Del., in 2019 for Colleen’s 40th birthday.

“It was such a great event,” Scott Shimko said. “We went back and participated twice.”

The cause turned personal for Colleen in 2023 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through early detection, excellent doctors and a support network of family and friends, Scott said, she received treatment and is now cancer-free.

“That experience plus our past experiences at Dewey Beach made us want to bring something similar here,” Scott said.

Clarks Summit will literally turn pink for the event. From Aug. 1 through 15, business owners throughout the borough are asked to decorate their windows with a pink theme to raise awareness for breast cancer. A “Hope on Display” award will be presented during the event on Aug.15. Also, Clarks Summit Elementary School on West Grove Street will display pink ribbons, with students and their families submitting names of loved ones affected by breast cancer.

The 5K kicks off on Davis Street behind the borough building and proceeds to Knapp Road and Carnation Drive in the Floral Park neighborhood before wrapping back toward the finish line on Depot Street via Grandview Street. The one-mile fun walk starts on Davis Street and proceeds to Grove Street, onto Bedford Street and then back to the finish line.

Although billed as a 5K race and walk, the event features much more.

During the race, children can enjoy activities like hair tinseling, an ice cream truck, face painting and a photobooth, all located at the Depot Street pocket park beside the Lasko Insurance Agency building. The races will conclude with a block party along Spring and Bedford streets, which will feature basket raffles, including an all-inclusive trip to Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana sponsored by Apple Vacations and Abington Travel, and music by Kristen and the Noise, a popular Philadelphia-based four-piece band that the Shimkos and their friends fell in love with at Dewey Beach.

“We hoped we could get the same band here,” Scott said. “And we did!”

Shimko said that the event would not have been possible without the support of their friends, who helped them form the nonprofit. Along with Scott and Colleen, who serve as president and vice-president of the organization, Clarks Summit Goes Pink’s officers include Secretary Marisa Bevilacqua-Evans and Treasurer Dave Abel, with Chris Evans, Andrew Kettel, Bridget Moyland Kettel, Debbie Musgrave and Amy Poremba serving as board members.

The Shimkos also credited a special friend, Michael Poremba, with helping the organization get on its feet.

“He helped us so much,” Scott said. “He really helped lay the foundation for Clarks Summit Goes Pink.”

Poremba died suddenly in late September 2025, and the inaugural event is dedicated in his memory.

The first Clarks Summit Goes Pink event also will honor Kathy Smith McDonald, a Clarks Summit resident who has battled breast cancer three times in her life.

“I’m here to inspire anyone out there who has cancer,” McDonald said on a vertical video posted on the organization’s Facebook page. “Include your family with that journey and grow as a family with that journey.”

The event is sponsored by many businesses and organizations throughout the greater Abingtons and Northeast Pennsylvania, including presenting sponsors Commonwealth Health and The Wright Center for Community Health, starting line sponsor Peoples Security Bank & Trust and finish line sponsor Geisinger Health.

“Every dollar we raise stays local,” Scott said.

Although registration for the races themselves are closed, Scott said they still need volunteers along the route.

“We were fortunate to have so many people register early,” he said. “We wanted to cap it to keep the event safe.”

For those who cannot volunteer but still want to help, Scott said, “Come to the block party.” He said they envision it to be a community-wide event that will be fun for the whole family.

Clarks Summit Goes Pink is slated for Aug. 15 at 10 p.m. with early packet pickup for registered racers held Aug. 14 from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Gathering Place, 304 S. State St. Race day packet pickup will be from 8 to 9 a.m. on event day.

For information about the organization and the event, go to csgoespink.com.