 | | | Kristi's Run for SHELTER participants, from left: Gabby Sandberg, Nick Pearson, Ella Dunderdale, Kristi Conner (the event's founder), Kendall Keely, Luke Pearson, and Cole Hink. Photo Caroline Conner
| | | | | | Kristi's Run for SHELTER, a three-mile run organized by Kristi Conner, an incoming third-grader at Lafayette Elementary School who wanted to find a way to raise money for homeless families in the Bay Area, will begin at 9 a.m. August 19 at the Lafayette Reservoir. Helping Kristi in this endeavor are Ella Dunderdale, Cole Hink, Kendall Keely, Nick and Luke Pearson, and Gabby Sandberg, a group of 8-, 9- and 10-year-old friends also from Lafayette Elementary School. They are running as a team with the common goal of raising $10,000 for SHELTER Inc. (www.shelterincofccc.org), a non-profit dedicated to helping the homeless in Contra Costa County, serving over 5,500 people last year alone with over half of them being children.
Kristi's Run for SHELTER first began July 31, 2011 when then 7-year-old Conner ran three-miles around the Lafayette Reservoir and raised $3,000 for SHELTER Inc. After seeing the homeless in San Francisco, Conner was moved to try and make an impact on the homeless in her community. Conner came up with the run because she had seen her parents support friends doing similar fundraising efforts for worthy causes.
This summer Conner wanted to expand the Run by inviting her friends to join her. They jumped at the chance to help. Conner said, "If I can raise $3,000 by myself, just think of how much more money we can raise for the homeless if my friends run, too. And it will be that much more fun to run with other kids!" The kids have been busy with training runs and are looking forward to the run and trying to reach their common fundraising goal. And their parents are excited about the feeling of accomplishment this will hopefully bring to their children. By learning generosity, empathy and compassion for others at such a young age, the parents hope their children will become more well-rounded, responsible, and caring teenagers and adults.
For more information about the run, visit www.firstgiving.com/
fundraiser/kristisrunforshelter/2012.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA