Students Encouraged to ‘Race to the Rescue’ This Weekend

SGA is hoping to reach its $60,000 goal for this year’s philanthropy cause, GROW, through Race to the Rescue, a 5k and 10k race.

“It’s kind of our last push to reach our goal,” said Hilary Murphy, director of the philanthropy committee.

GROW is a ministry started by Faa Sumitra in Thailand to give children at risk for human trafficking a safe place to live and learn about God. SGA is trying to raise money for a new residential building, Murphy said.

“Currently we’re about halfway [to our goal],” she said, “but we haven’t done much fundraising so far this year. But we’re setting a $60,000 goal which is much larger than previous years, so we’re still pretty pleased with how much we’ve raised.”

Race to the Rescue will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 12, in Cedarville Park. Registration costs $25, but people who raise $40 or more in sponsorship only have to pay $10. Registration will be open until the day of the race, but the first 250 people to register will receive a free T-shirt.

Although no specific goal has been set, Murphy said the philanthropy committee hopes to have at least 100 participants in the race. She also said the committee is hoping to get people from local churches and the community, as well as Cedarville students, to participate in the race.

This is the second race the philanthropy committee has done. The committee held a race last year in Xenia for the Luke Commission, but Murphy said the committee decided to move this year’s race to Cedarville Park to make it more accessible for students. Carissa Drum, next year’s philanthropy director, said the race is beneficial for the ministry and the participants.

“A race is one of the best ways you can get involved in supporting GROW, because it is something you get to do with your friends and something you get to participate in,” Drum said, “so it’s not like you’re just giving a donation, but you’re also doing something that’s really fun.”

The philanthropy committee has fundraised through its Week of Awareness, T-shirt sales, and a fundraiser at BD’s Mongolian Grill this year. Murphy said The Inversions and the comedy org, DTR, will have shows later this month to raise support for GROW.

The Inversions will perform at 7 p.m. April 11 in the Cedarville Opera House. DTR’s show will be at 7 p.m. April 11, 12 and 13 in Alford Auditorium.

“We’ve raised more than we have in the past few years,” Murphy said, “and we’re not even done fundraising yet.”

Jen Taggart is a freshman journalism major and reporter for Cedars. She enjoys writing, listening to music and fueling her chocolate addiction.