Five Nease High School seniors will plan and execute a 5K race on Veteran’s Day to benefit K9s For Warriors as part of their International Baccalaureate program’s service project. Since Taylor Hampson is a runner, he thought a race to benefit a cause would be a good project and asked classmates Elkhan Bagirov, Virginia Peery, Anna Hampton and Lindy Gostage to participate.
“I am a runner, so I wanted to have a community service project that reflected that passion,” Hampson said.
The students met to brainstorm about the project and decided to support K9s For Warriors. After naming the race “5K for K9s,” they decided Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day, reinforced the objective of bringing awareness to the nonprofit. While the students have a sponsor at the not-for-profit organization, and support from Nease Principal Lisa Kunze, they are responsible for planning, designing and implementing the project from beginning to end.
“I have always entered 5Ks from the perspective of a runner, but I have never considered all the time and effort that goes into planning the race itself,” Hampson said.
In addition to planning the course and publicizing the event, the students are working to get sponsors. Cantina Louis has made a commitment and another restaurant and local golf course sponsorships are pending.
“It has been a difficult process,” Hampson said. “We are still waiting to hear back from some other companies and are still accepting corporate and personal donations.”
Sponsorship includes the company name on the T-shirt. To inquire about sponsorship, email events.5kfork9s@gmail.com.
“We hope to pass on this race to future generations of IB students and have it become a growing success each year,” Hampson said.
The 5K for K9s is scheduled at 7 a.m. Nov. 11 at Allen D. Nease High School, 10550 Ray Road in Ponte Vedra Beach. Medals will be awarded in categories by age and there is a fun run option for those who do not want to participate in the full 5K. Preregistration online is encouraged to avoid long lines on race day.
Registration fees are $20 for the 5K and $10 for the fun run. Pre-order a T-shirt for an additional $10. To register, go to www.5kfork9sforwarriors.com.
