Georgetown – This year, the Delaware Tech Owens Campus is hoping to make Sept. 11 not only a day of remembrance, but a day to help raise funds for a veteran to attend college.
The inaugural Run, White & Blue 5K on Thursday, Sept. 11 will benefit a veteran scholarship to attend the Owens Campus. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with a flag ceremony by the flagpole near the Student Services Center honoring 9/11. The race starts at 6 p.m. near the Student Services Center pavilion. Following the event, there will be a post-race cookout and awards ceremony for the top overall male and female finishers as well as the top finishers in each age group.
“Our community has a growing number of veterans and servicemembers, so we feel it is important to develop new strategies that recognize and support our military students,” said Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Melissa Rakes. “We know the cost of college is a barrier for many of our students. This scholarship is a way for us to give back to the brave men and women who have served our country.
“We hope to raise enough money that we can defray the cost of education for a student veteran.”
Registration is currently available through Seashore Striders at seashorestriders.com/content/run-white-blue-5k-runwalk. The cost is $20 for adults by Sept. 5 ($25 day of); $10 for all students, military, first responders, and children (2-17 years old); and $20 for the Silent Marcher (donate to the event, stay at home, and we’ll send you the event T-shirt). Day of registration and check in begins at 5 p.m.
In addition, World Gym Millsboro is offering a Pump and Run in conjunction with the 5K. Participants can bench press a set amount of weight, and receive seconds off of their overall 5K time for each repetition. For more information, call World Gym Millsboro at 302-933-0722.
“We want the general public to participate in this run because our veterans have served our country with dignity and honor and it is only right to help them realize their dreams by providing them the opportunity to attend our college,” said Tina Huebner, Occupational Therapy student and co-chairperson of the 5K committee.
“I hope this event gains momentum and becomes an annual event so that many more veterans are given the opportunity to attend our college.”
The Run, White & Blue 5K is still looking for corporations or organizations to sponsor the event. Anyone providing a sponsorship worth $500 or more will have their logo printed on the event T-shirt. For more information, or if you are interested in being an event sponsor, call Development Director Jason Bentley at 302-259-6024.
For more information, visit go.dtcc.edu/run5k.
PHOTO CAPTION: They want you to join them at the Run, White & Blue 5K on Sept. 11 at Delaware Tech’s Owens Campus! Sporting the pre-race T-shirts are: top row, from left, Tina Huebner, Occupational Therapy student and co-chairperson of the 5K committee; and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Melissa Rakes. Front row, Robert Karpin, Nursing student and co-chairperson of the 5K committee; Nate Johnson, 2014 General Business graduate and veteran of the U.S. Navy; Delaware National Guard First Lieutenant Shawn Rakes; and Ben Fulton, 2014 Communications graduate and veteran of the U.S. Navy.
