Dr. William A. Petit, two years later

This is an interview with Dr William Petit, two years after the crimes that took
his family and inadvertently sparked an en-masse philanthropic movement of sorts here in Connecticut.

You'll see a perfect example of this communal philanthropy in the rapidly approaching "5K Race day" scheduled for this Sunday afternoon in Plainville.
Dr Petit grew up in Plainville and has resided there with his parents since the crimes: His parents have very strong ties to the town and the surrounding communities.

The 5k race is in fact the second of its kind, having proved so successful in its
first launch (in 08) which the founders and organizers set their sites on making it an annual event.

Last July, thousands of people turned out on one of the hottest days of the summer, many of them to run in a substantial foot course, in an effort to show their support for the family and the Petit Family Foundation,
http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ , the nonprofit charity that Dr Petit created in the memory of his wife and daughters, all of whom were very active in volunteer work and community outreach.

The Petit Family Foundation has a broad focus: donated and raised funds from events like the 5K Race- day will go to help victims of violent crime as well as people suffering with chronic illness, such as Multiple Sclerosis . The Petit girls and their mom were very involved with the M.S Foundation beginning when Jennifer Hawke Petit was diagnosed with MS during the mid- nineties.

According to Dr Petit, in the beginning the girls wanted to help their mom they were worried she would die from the disease, but as they grew older their focus became a desire to help anyone who suffered with this challenging and poorly understood disease.

Dr Petit wished to carry on the girls spirit of volunteerism and idealism long after their deaths. It would seem that he has done an excellent job, and helped an awful lot of people in the proccess.