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Runners to leave from Capitol steps

The annual fundraiser to benefit the Key Training Center includes a Run for the Money, a telethon, a dinner auction-and a taste of the Blues.

By MOISES MENDOZA
Published July 6, 2006

They'll undoubtedly be sweating in the hot Florida sun later this month, but participants in the Key Training Center's annual Run for the Money know it will all be for a good cause: helping the county's mentally challenged.

Organizers say they hope to raise more than $150,000 for the Key Training Center's efforts to help people in Citrus County with mental disabilities. The annual fundraiser includes the run, a dinner auction and a telethon on the center's local television station.

The kickoff will be July 21, when the Key hosts its 24th dinner auction, named "A Night Among the Stars."

Blues Brothers impersonators will perform and more than 100 items will be up for auction. Outback Steakhouse is donating food for the dinner.

But the main event, as always, will be the 180-mile run from the steps of the Capitol in Tallahassee to the Key Training Center's Lecanto campus from July 24-29.

The majority of runners are members of the Citrus County Road Runners Club and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. There will be a celebration about noon on the 29th as the run finishes at the Key campus in Lecanto.

"It's going to be a wonderful feeling for them when they see all the people we help," said Key spokeswoman Melissa Walker.

That day, WYKE-Ch. 47, the center's own television station, will host a nine-hour telethon.

While the Key Training Center receives most of its funding from state and federal sources, Walker said about 15 percent comes from events like the Run for the Money and other such grants and community support.

The money will go toward providing about 40 mentally challenged people with scholarships to take part in the center's activities, Walker said.

But the events aren't all about raising money. They're also about building awareness.

"The reason this run was started in the first place was to signify the challenges our mentally challenged individuals go through on a daily basis," Walker said. "They face major challenges every single day."

People can book tickets for the dinner auction by calling 527-8228.

Moises Mendoza can be reached at mmendoza@sptimes.com or 860-7337.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 22:59:01]