Students, faculty and the Abilene community can run a 5K this Saturday to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The May 5 run brings area “Wish Kids” families and participants together to make wishes come true. This is the second annual run hosted by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
SAAC is a nationally recognized group of student-athletes that is a part of the NCAA. It is a group that serves as a leadership group recruiting fellow student-athletes to serve the campus, community, and athletics to impact student-athlete welfare.
In the NCAA Division II, every member institution raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, being one of the largest grass roots contributions for the organization. Over the past seven years, the Division II SAAC has raised more than $1.9 million to help grant many wishes for kids.
“We are committed to this foundation and being a top fundraising school, and we hope this event will continue to grow and be a great event each and every year,” said David Pillen, senior electronic media major from Sugar Land and SAAC chair. “As of right now, we have about 50 people pre-registered, which is 10-times more individuals than we had last year. We hope and are planning for another great turnout this year to help make wishes come true.”
Liz Lurz, sophomore business management major from San Antonio, is participating in the race and is happy that she is able to make a difference in a child’s life just by running.
“Make a wish is a chance to give a child a day full of smiles and memories to last a lifetime,” Lurz said. “Knowing that I am able to contribute and be a small hand in making their wish become reality and a chance to give them a break from all of the daily challenges they face is so fulfilling to the heart.”
Lurz runs with a purpose and the memory of a close friend.
“I lost a very close friend last summer to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She was 19, but two years before Paige passed away, her wish was to go to Disney World with her whole family, I was able to be a part of making her wish come true through months of fundraising. Her smile is forever ingrained in my heart. I fully support Make-A-Wish and their efforts to make a child’s wish come true.”
All pre-registries will receive a free Red Mango gift voucher, race T-shirt, certificate from Road ID, a 14-day pass to Hendrick Health Club and other benefits. More information about the event can be found at www.acurunforwishes.eventbrite.com. To register, visit http://bit.ly/acurunforwishes. To be a sponsor or donor, visit http://bit.ly/x6Vc9S.
