VALLEY — For a number of years now, the Fairfax Junior Variety Club has played an important part in getting the annual Hike/Bike/Run fundraiser for Valley Haven School go off without a hitch.

Accompanied by their husbands, these dedicated young women are out in force on Hike/Bike/Run Day providing refreshments for the participants and cooking hamburgers for the crowd that’s present.

“What they do is really important to us,” said Valley Haven Executive Director Craig Brown. “All we have to do is have the food and drinks for them. They do everything else. We appreciate them so much.”

A longstanding tradition of the club is to take a fundraising walk for the Hike/Bike/Run well in advance of that first Saturday in May when the Hike/Bike/Run takes place.

They earn pledges for the school when they walk and when the Hike/Bike/Run rolls around they are there bright and early in the morning, providing cold drinks and food for the hikers, bikers and runners.

They did their walk this year on March 15.

“We got it in early so we can be at Valley Haven School on Hike/Bike/Run Day,” said Variety Club member Anne Ponder. “We will once again handle the refreshments. We’ll be there on Saturday, May 5, cooking and serving refreshments for all the volunteers and participants. We’re all asking everyone to keep supporting the Hike/Bike/Run.”

Since 1959, Valley Haven School has served local children and adults with cognitive needs and developmental delays. The Hike/Bike/Run fundraiser has taken place every year since 1977. The money that’s raised locally serves as the match for state and federal grants that help keep Valley Haven the first-class facility it has been for many decades now.