Team Laniese

The biggest team in Jingle Bell Run history was 120 members strong and represented a staggering 15 percent of the total Jingle Bell Run turnout that year. It’s the Team Laniese team, and they’ve been showing up in droves since 2011 to honor Laniese Penner, who was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at age 9.

Laniese is now 20 and in college, but the legacy of Team Laniese carries on during this year’s virtual event. “The Arthritis Foundation is such a big part of the fabric of our family,” says Staci Penner, Laniese’s mom and the Team Laniese captain. “Some things in life change, but we will always treasure the hope and support the Arthritis Foundation has given us. When we first found out that Laniese had juvenile arthritis (JA), we felt alone and scared. I reached out to the Arthritis Foundation, and we immediately felt supported. From that day, we never walked alone with JA.” 

Team Laniese has been comprised largely of classmates and family members from Laniese’s school, Berean Academy in Elbing, KS. Their team had 82 members in 2014, 89 in 2015, 102 in 2016, then 120 in 2018. “Throughout the years,” Staci says, “we would see Jingle Bell Run shirts and Team Laniese shirts at school events!” Staci eventually became an arthritis warrior herself, being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2016. “The Arthritis Foundation has given us hope and strength through our journeys with JA and RA,” Staci says. “We’ve had amazing opportunities of education, connectedness and empowerment through events like JA days, the JA conference, the Advocacy Summit, Jingle Bell Run, The Walk to Cure Arthritis and many other events. We have built an arthritis family across the country, all because of the Arthritis Foundation.” Huge thanks to the strength, loyalty and support of the entire Team Laniese family!