8/11/2014 8:15:00 PM Help NC Trooper FootChase 5K Choose A Charity Voting continues through August 22nd
Scene from this year's NC Trooper FootChase 5K.
(Photo Courtesy of NC Trooper FootChase 5K)
Wayne Howard Reporter
Catawba Regional Hospice received $3324.01 to be used in support of patient care from the second annual Trooper FootChase 5K held in March of this year. The Footchase 5K portion was $3007.76, while $200 came from on-site donations, and an additional $116.25 was supplied by Olivia Beane and Kathryn Miller, local fourth-graders who sold lemonade to thank Hospice for the care that was provided to Kathryn's grandfather, Bobby Setzer.
The event, spearheaded by Sgt. Kelly Stewart, NC Trooper and Race Director, was held March 29th. The FootChase 5K allows law enforcement to show its support for local communities beyond the work it does in enforcing laws and keeping us safe. It identifies troopers, firefighters, and others in similar jobs as neighbors who are eager to give back to those they protect and serve.
This year's NC Troopers Footchase 5K attracted nearly 300 runners.
Plans are now underway for the 3rd annual NC Troopers FootChase 5k & Fun Run, supporting a local non-profit organization to be announced after voting is completed. The 2015 event will be held Saturday, March 28th at the new Conover City Park at 361 5th Avenue SE in Conover--the Fun Run beginning at 8:30 AM and the 5K at 9.
Sergeant Stewart, who has served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol since 1996 and currently works with Troop F, District 5, says a non-profit charity will be chosen to receive next Spring's proceeds from three nominees. One of those is Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc. (ECCCM) in Newton. ECCCM is a Christian non-profit crisis assistance ministry that serves those in need. Typical assistance includes help with mortgage and rent payments, utility bills, fuel oil and kerosene purchases, emergency food assistance, etc.
Another is the Long View Lions Club. Their work with the blind and visually impaired is well known and appreciated not only in Catawba County but elsewhere.
The third, and so far the runaway choice for the charity to receive the money is the Abby Grace Foundation. Abby is a 9-year-old girl from Dallas who has Sanfillippo Syndrome or Mucopolysaccharidosis III (MPS-III), a rare disease named for Sylvester Sanfilippo, the pediatrician who first described the disease. Children stricken with MPS-III seldom live beyond their late teens; some die sooner.
As of last week, Sgt. Stewart said ten Race Ambassadors willing to volunteer to represent the event at the Hickory American Legion Fair, by distributing race information at the Trooper FootChase 5K booth were still needed for various times (mostly 5-10 PM) August 27th to September 1st.
Early registration for the 5K is underway. Sgt. Stewart said those who won't be able to run but would like to help out in a worthwhile cause can be a Phantom Runner by contributing and if they do it early, they can still get a t-shirt. You can sign up for the event at https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Conover/NCTroopersFootChase5k.
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