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Miami Township 5K run remembers Natalie Fossier

from the Community Press

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MIAMI TWP. - A Miami Township family has used the memory of their daughter to guide their philanthropy work - and local runners and walkers can contribute to their cause at the second annual "Fly Thru the Park" 5K Run/Walk this July.

Natalie Fossier and her dog, Angel

The race is held each year in memory of Natalie Fossier and is now part of Miami Township's MidSummer at the Meadows festival.

Natalie was killed in the ice storm of February 2007, when an ice-laden tree limb fell on her in the front yard of her home. She was 9 years old at the time.

That summer, the Fossier family and friends partnered with Miami Township to host The Natalie Fossier Memorial 5K Run/Walk. The $30,000 raised from the race have since gone to fund projects her parents think Natalie would have liked.

David Fossier, Natalie's father, said the foundation supports efforts "we feel she is guiding us towards, things she couldn't do in her short life or (that she) had an interest in."

The Fossiers remember Natalie's love for animals and her dog, Angel, with donations to the Clermont County Humane Society.

They support "her big passion" for reading with donations to libraries, book fairs and the creation of scholarships for Milford school students.

"She would always come home and scoop her dog up and get a stack of books to share with us," said Fossier.

This year, 39 members of the Fossier family will participate in the "Fly Thru the Park" race, in addition to their work organizing it behind the scenes.

"We're a very close family, with a lot of children ... and a lot of purpose," said Debbie Abner, Natalie's aunt. The family also set up a 501(3c) foundation for Natalie through The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Abner said the family tries "to put Natalie's heart into (the foundation), into the schools and books and the things that she loved, to help other children in the community."

"That, more than anything, is the purpose of it," said Abner, "to give her parents the forwarding of Natalie."

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