Spring is here, and it is about time to get ready to spring into action to help your local elementary school.
Get laced up and ready for fun on Saturday, May 30 at 9 a.m. for the 11th Elizabeth Haddon 5k Run and One Mile Funwalk fundraiser. This year will once again feature a paint race along with raffle prizes, place prizes, a bouncy house and music. To participate in the race, there is a $25 fee and for the walk it is $10.
“The 5k is one of the Elizabeth Haddon PTA’s biggest fundraisers. Events such as this have been instrumental over the years in providing smart boards, iPad carts and outdoor classrooms to enhance our kids’ learning experiences. It’s a fun, fitness-focused day that ultimately helps all Lizzy Haddon kids,” PTA member Linda Baker Hochgertel said.
“People should come out because it is always a lot of fun and people can participate in many ways. There are a lot of ways to get involved. It is really a fun day for kids to enjoy the early hours on a Saturday and helps to benefit our school,” race chairperson Toni Esemplare said.
The Elizabeth Haddon 5k Run and One Mile Funwalk was started 11 years ago when it came up as an idea for a PTA fundraiser. It has become a yearly tradition and gets the kids involved and excited to participate. Parents, teachers and children come together for this event each May to work together to raise money.
Like every year, proceeds of this event will go toward the Elizabeth Haddon PTA, which helps the school in a number of ways. Its proceeds go toward the school and kids and helps for the betterment of their education. This year, the PTA is working on outdoor classroom space with its outside campus revitalization project.
Last year for its 10-year anniversary run, the paint component of the race was introduced. Because it was so well received, the Elizabeth Haddon PTA is hosting it once again.
A paint race is a 5k run in which runners are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. Runners are asked to wear white at the starting line, get doused in color and most importantly have fun. The paint is dispensed through squeeze bottles as runners pass by. The paint is safe, made with all natural ingredients, and doesn’t stain or hurt you.
“It was a lot of fun last year and so we are doing it again this year,” Esemplare said. “It is fun to see everyone doused in color.”
The race and walk start at Elizabeth Haddon Elementary School, running throughout the community, and end back where they started.
There will be refreshments after the race including drinks, water ice, fruits and muffins. There are also door prizes available, a bouncy house from My Gym Cherry Hill and DJ Michael Lazar.
The race and walk usually go from about 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Then everyone gets to enjoy refreshments and music while the race winners get tallied up and door prizes are announced. The event usually doesn’t run much later than 11 a.m., with individuals hanging around for conversations and the music.
For the race itself, there are seven age categories where the first- and second-place males and females in each age category win prizes.
All prizes are donated from the community.
You don’t have to be a runner to participate, either. Volunteers are needed to spray runners with paint, marshal runners in the proper direction and more.
Although the PTA is not putting a number on how many people it would like to participate or how much it would like to raise from this event, it would like to have just as many people come out as last year.
“We’re not putting numbers on it. We just want to do what we can. We had 300 last year, and it would be great to get that many this year,” Esemplare said.
Anyone who participates is required to sign up and fill out a form. Sign up online at www.lmsports.com, on Friday, May 29 at the all purpose room at Elizabeth Haddon, or register the day of the race.
“I hope the people appreciate and enjoy the things the various people in the community have to offer. Help out our school and exercise and be healthy through this event,” Esemplare said.
For more information about the Elizabeth Haddon 5k Run and One Mile Funwalk, contact Esemplare at tesemplare@comcast.net.
