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Run for the money
[Times photo: Lance A. Rothstein]
You don’t have to run to benefit charity. You can walk to raise money for causes from breast cancer to coastal cleanup. |
By WILMA NORTON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 19, 2002
Charities raise thousands of dollars each year by sponsoring walks and runs. The cost is low, and the participants have a good time while being philanthropic.
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About 12,000 sneaker-clad people will converge on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront Saturday to get some exercise and raise money for breast cancer research.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the first of many walks and runs in the coming weeks organized to raise money for research on diabetes, leukemia, breast cancer, heart disease, mental illness, blindness and ALS. Others will raise money for charitable endeavors such as care of animals, coastal cleanup and police memorial funds.
Such events "give people a chance to come out and enjoy a Saturday morning with friends and co-workers, walk for a good cause, get some exercise," said Bruce Inverso, vice president of marketing for the American Heart Association Florida/Puerto Rico.
The heart association has been organizing fundraising walks for 11 years.
The events are popular with charities for several reasons but mainly because the overhead is low and the profile is high.
For participants, the fundraising effort doesn't take much time and doesn't involve asking friends and neighbors to buy stuff. Although many walkers do sign up sponsors to raise extra money, others just write a check to participate.
[Times file 1999]
The Paws on Parade Walk benefits the SPCA of Pinellas County at North Shore Park in St. Petersburg.
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"People realize that even though it's on a Saturday morning, it's not a huge commitment of time," Inverso said. And the fundraising is done in advance, so that by walk day, "they're there to enjoy it. . . . A lot people come out and bring their families, their spouses."
Corporate sponsors generally pay for promotion and the cost of putting on the walks and runs, so the named charities get to keep virtually all the donated money.
"A very small percentage goes to the overhead of raising the money, less than 20 percent" in the case of the heart association, Inverso said. "That's one good thing people like. (They) realize the money is going for what they want it to go for."
[Times photo: Michael Rondou 2001]
The start of last year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K at Straub Park in St. Petersburg.
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Here are some of the other walks for charity coming up in the Tampa Bay area this season:
America's Walk for Diabetes/Clearwater (Sept. 28) 8:30 a.m. Long Center, 1501 N Belcher Road. Toll-free 1-800-741-3730 or www.diabetes.org.
America's Walk for Diabetes/Tampa (Oct. 5) 8:30 a.m. Al Lopez Park, 4810 N Himes Ave. (813) 885-5007.
Light the Night Walk/St. Petersburg (Oct. 5) Benefits Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 6:30 p.m., North Shore Park. (813) 963-6461 or www.lightthenight.org. Race for Sight (Oct. 5) 5K and 1-mile walk/run benefits Lions Eye and Tissue Bank. 7:30 a.m., Latam at the Centro, corner of Nebraska and Palm avenues, Ybor City. (813) 928-9489 or www.lionseyebank.com. Light the Night Walk/Tampa (Oct. 12) 6:30 p.m., Al Lopez Park. (813) 963-6461 or www.lightthenight.org. American Heart Walk Tampa Bay (Oct. 12) 8 a.m., Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg. (727) 570-8610 or www.americanheart.org. Tampa Police Memorial Run/Walk (Oct. 12) 5K and 1-mile walk/run. 8 a.m. Lykes Gas Light Park, downtown Tampa. www.tampagov.net/dept_Police/.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (Oct. 19) 9 a.m., St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, (813) 254-3630, and 9 a.m., North Straub Park, St. Petersburg, (727) 812-7363.
American Heart Walk Pasco/Hernando (Oct. 19) 8 a.m., Heritage Pines Golf & Country Club, 11524 Scenic Hills Blvd., Hudson. Toll-free 1-800-275-1702.
Walk to D'Feet ALS (Oct. 19) 8 a.m., Carillon Office Park, Ulmerton Road and Fountain Parkway, St. Petersburg. (727) 579-9511 or www.als-florida.org. Race for the Coast (Oct. 19) 10-mile and 5K road races benefit Clean Beaches Council. 7:30 a.m., Fort DeSoto Park, south of St. Petersburg. www.cleanbeaches.com. Paws on Parade (Oct. 26) Walk to benefit SPCA of Pinellas County. 8:30 a.m., North Shore Park, St. Petersburg. (727) 586-3591 or www.spcaofpinellas.org.
American Heart Walk East Pasco (Nov. 2) 8 a.m., Pasco Regional Medical Center, 13100 Fort King Road, Dade City. Toll-free 1-800-275-1702.
St. Petersburg Times Turkey Trot (Nov. 28) 10K, 5K and 1-mile benefits several local charities. 7:30 a.m., Clearwater High School, 540 S Hercules Ave. www.tampabay.com/turkeytrot. Boley's Jingle Bell Run (Dec. 11) Walk/run to benefit Boley Centers' Transitional Homeless Project for the Mentally Ill. 7 p.m., downtown St. Petersburg waterfront. www.boleycenters.org. Never participated in a charity walk before? Here are some tips to keep in mind:
* Wear comfortable shoes, clothing, sunblock and a hat.
* If you haven't exercised in a long time, take it easy and consider getting a doctor's approval.
* Don't burden yourself with lots of stuff. Walk organizers provide plenty of water stations, sunscreen booths, and free fruit and snacks. Leave the heavy purse at home.
* These events can be crowded; keep that in mind if you plan to bring children in bulky strollers or dogs on leashes.
PREVIEW
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at North Straub Park on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront. The event includes a 5K run/walk, 1-mile fun run, Kidz Dash in a Flash (ages 10 and younger) and breast cancer Survivor March. Registration at the park is 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 6-7:45 a.m. Saturday. Kidz Dash registration is 7-8:45 a.m. Saturday. Opening ceremonies are 7:20 a.m. Saturday, 5K run 8 a.m., walk 8:05 a.m., 1-mile 9:15 a.m., Kidz Dash 9:30 a.m., march 9:45 a.m., all at North Straub Park. Registration fee at the park, $25. Kidz Dash free, but registration required. (727) 734-7832 or www.komensuncoast.com.
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