Trending
PITTSBURGH -- On Sunday morning, Wintersville-native Carlin Long will run in the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon's half-marathon event.
A former track and field athlete and 2018 graduate of Catholic Central High School, Long has a passion for running, but his participation Sunday is motivated by more than just a love for the sport -- he's motivated by the desire to promote a charity's 10-year anniversary and honor a late friend.
Long will be leading a team of 14 participants, spread across multiple events, who will raise awareness for Cynthia's Kitchen Project. The project was founded in memory of Cynthia Rose Phillipson, who died in 2014 at the age of 15 while a freshman at CCHS.
Cynthia's Kitchen Project is a part of Mary's Meals, a global charity aimed at solving world hunger by providing meals to some 2.4 million children in poor communities throughout 18 countries. Long is an ambassador for the charity, meaning he volunteers to speak about the organization's mission to various groups or at events.
"The goal is that every child should have a meal at their place of education every single day," Long said of the charity.
In places of most need, Mary's Meals uses the money it has raised to create feeding programs for children at local schools, Long said, noting that food and volunteer cooks are sourced from within the community. This results in a substantial increase in school attendance, since children -- many of whom are without parents and care for their siblings -- don't have to provide their own meal and can now make education a priority, thus furthering their career prospects.
Started around 2014, Cynthia's Kitchen Project has been responsible for financially supporting two schools in Liberia, where their kitchens were named in Phillipson's honor -- Cynthia's Kitchen. After a large donation to Mary's Meals totally covered the Liberian operations, Cynthia's Kitchen moved in 2024 to the Chikala School in Malawi, which serves 412 children using funds the project raises.
Long's involvement with the project began when he was little, growing up with and being close friends with his neighbor, Cynthia Phillipson. Both attended Bishop John King Mussio Junior High School and had a shared aptitude for athletics.
Long recalled how BJKM began raising money for Mary's Meals when he was in eighth grade. Phillipson was particularly passionate about the cause, he said, being enthusiastic about participating in a "rice bowl lunch" on Ash Wednesday and viewing Mary's Meals informational media.
Phillipson died on Nov. 2, 2014, after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice two days earlier, but her passion for the cause would live on when BJKM announced it had raised enough money to directly sponsor a school and desired to name the kitchen after Phillipson -- "a beautiful way to carry on her memory," Long said.
That was the start of Cynthia's Kitchen Project, which Long participated in by helping direct fundraising, not just in BJKM but throughout the community.
While attending Duquesne University in 2019, Long got involved in long-distance running. He participated in the Pittsburgh half-marathon and used the opportunity to collect donations for Cynthia's Kitchen Project.
Long planned to run the full marathon with the same goal in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted. Instead, Long created his own marathon -- his house to CCHS and back -- and used a "Sponsor a Mile program," through which individuals could donate to sponsor a mile in memory of a loved one, the names of which Long had written on his sleeves as he ran.
The cost of a sponsorship was $25, or the amount of money needed for Cynthia's Kitchen to feed one child for a year. The community's response was so overwhelming that the project was able begin supporting the second school in Liberia.
During the marathon itself, Long said, "There were people out everywhere on the streets, holding signs. It was an incredible thing to see."
In May 2022, Long participated in his first official marathon in Pittsburgh, finishing with a time of 2:57:01 and qualifying for the 127th Boston Marathon by about 3 minutes. Again collecting Sponsor a Mile donations, Long ran the Boston Marathon on April 17, 2023, and finished with a time of 3:10:47, in spite of an injury he suffered in the last two miles.
This year marks Cynthia's Kitchen Project's 10-year anniversary, so the project's team plans to commemorate the anniversary by hosting 10 different events throughout the year -- events planned so far include the marathon, a wristband sale, a wine tasting at Valley Wine Cellar and a pickeball tournament.
Due to the many events being organized, there will be no Sponsor a Mile program this time, Long said. However, individuals can donate using a link on the Cynthia's Kitchen Project's Instagram and Facebook pages. As of Friday, the project had raised $1,032.03 of its $10,000 goal, with 243 days to go -- $10,000 is the cost of keeping the kitchen running for one year.
May 5 also would have been Phillipson's birthday, so marathon participants -- sporting 10-year anniversary T-shirts -- will use the opportunity to celebrate her life and legacy. Long said he anticipates Sunday will be "a really fun day," the way Phillipson would've wanted it to be.
"Cynthia had fun in everything she did. She always was having a blast, so we wanted to create that in her memory on her birthday with everyone going out and running together as a group, having fun and, at the same time, raising awareness for Cynthia's Kitchen and continuing to honor her memory."
For Long, the race will be an echo of the first Pittsburgh half-marathon that got his running fundraising started. Long now is a graduate student at Duquesne, studying physical therapy at the same, approaching his graduation in August.
Using his athletic gifts to "glorify God and celebrate (Phillipson)," Long said he draws inspiration from the Ohio Valley community that's been so supportive.
"What I've noticed about the ... Ohio Valley community is when there's a tragedy, everyone comes together, and it's like this big extended family. After Cynthia passed away, that's what it's been like and what it continues to be. That sense of community pushes me forward, just knowing how many people love and care about Cynthia in so many different ways."
Information and updates about Cynthia's Kitchen Project can be found on Instagram at @thecynthiaskitchenproject and Facebook at the Cynthia's Kitchen Project. Long encouraged individuals to share the page and help spread awareness of the project's mission.