Monday, April 13, 2009

A wonderful weekend!

The race was a huge success. We exceeded our goal by raising $11,ooo. The weather was beautiful. Senator Sam Brownback gave the invocation, Chaplain Lee Rader blessed the track, and the race began. The local news channels, WIBW and KSNT, were there and gave us wonderful news coverage on the 6:00 and 10:00 news. It was such an exciting day! I think we're all still basking in the excitement.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sponsor a runner

It is now possible to sponsor a runner for $20.00. The nicknames for the women participants are on the KSDS website so we are hoping that individuals in the community will decide to sponsor the runners. The race date is getting close, and we're working hard to reach our goal. Norma and Carol will be on KSNT early news show this Friday morning about 6:20 to talk about the upcoming race.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Topeka Capital Journal

We were so excited to see the article about Running Free in the Topeka Capital Journal today. Phil Anderson did a wonderful job of presenting the importance of the running club in the words of the members. Thank you to Phil. We are continuing to look for ways to increase the community's awareness of the run in order to reach our goal of $10,000 for KSDS.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

In their own words

We have asked the women in the running club to put in their own words what running means to them. The responses have been so heartfelt. One women wrote "I am amazed that we all have come so far and accomplished so much by doing something so simple, yet powerful. It brings us together, yet gives us each an individual strength that we can take with us always." We, the volunteers, are working on ways to bring these powerful messages out into the community. We so appreciate the Topeka Capital Journal, WIBW, the Kansas Star, and KSNT for their support. We are looking forward to presenting our message to the Brewster Place Retirement Community and the Downtown Rotary Club.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A little publicity

We will be on the Ralph Hipp show on WIBW this Thursday, March 12 at 4:00 to talk about the upcoming race. Ann Byington, who has a service dog from KSDS will be on the show as well. We are hoping that this will expose lots of folks to our cause and inspire them to donate. We will also be doing an interview with the Topeka Capital Journal out at the Topeka Correctional Facility on Thursday as well. Busy day! We are so very grateful to the news media for allowing us to share our story as we strive to reach our goal of raising $10,000.

Friday, March 6, 2009

facebook

I hope all my facebook friends will check out this blog and consider donating to KSDS. For those that decide to donate on-line, please include an e-mail to KSDS designating the donation to go for the 5K 4 K9 race. Please consider purchasing a T-shirt and wearing it proudly! We are all getting so excited about the race and so gratefully appreciate your support.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Jenny Jones

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the $25,000 award that the Jenny Jones Foundation gave to Running Free. After hearing about our running club, the dedication of the participants, and the poor running track that the club used, Jenny gave us $20,000 to re-surface the track. Thanks to Andrews Asphalt, the track was resurfaced. Additionally, Jenny gave us $5,000 to purchase new running shoes for the participants. Great Plains Running Company came out and fitted the women with the appropriate shoes for their individual needs. It was a thrilling experience to see the women receive their shoes. We are so incredibly grateful to all the folks who have helped us with this running club. For more about Jenny's involvement with our club, please see www.jennysheroes.com/heroes_20081030_suzannem.shtml

Saturday, February 21, 2009

t-shirt design

To the right is our t-shirt design. We are hoping to sell many t-shirts to the public. They are available in red or blue for $20. I really love the design. Thank you, Carol. Check out the KSDS web site for more information. www.ksds.org

Friday, February 20, 2009

on-line with Jim Cates

We were able to promote the up-coming race Wednesday when we were interviewed by Jim Cates on his CJ on-line show. He gave us the opportunity to discuss the running club, KSDS, and the race. I don't know how many listeners he has but the exposure will hopefully help get the word out.

Monday, February 16, 2009

About us

We are a running club in the Topeka Correctional Facility that was started by volunteers, Suzanne and Carol, with the goal of training women to run the 5K Race Against Breast Cancer in 2006. We partnered with the community organization and held the race on the grounds of the facility at the same time as the race in the community. The race was so well received by the women in the facility that we decided the continue with the running club and Running Free began. The members feel very strongly about community involvement and have raised over $6000 to benefit local agencies including the Battered Women's Task Force, Helping Hands Humane Society and of course, The Race Against Breast Cancer. This is so amazing because the money raised comes from the inmates' own personal funds which are quite limited. We have decided to have a 5K race on April 11 to raise money for KSDS and the goal is $10,000. This daunting goal can only be reached by community involvement so the volunteers are fund- raising as well. We are looking for community sponsors, and I spent the majority of Saturday writing letters to companies in the hope of getting sponsors. Getting the word out is challenging but we're working on it. I think we're all learning a lot about fund-raising. A garage sale in the community is being planned. More about that later. Suzanne