Seventh grade students from The Baylor School will host a fundraising 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run this Saturday. The race, known as the “Over the Clover 5k” (as it is being held on St. Patrick’s Day), will be held on the Baylor campus.
"Funds raised will send impoverished Lakota Sioux children to a summer fun and academic enrichment camp," officials said. "The children, residents of the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, live in some of the most challenging circumstances in all of the United States.
According to the non-profit agency Simply Smiles, the organization that runs the summer camp, unemployment rates on the reservation reach higher than 90%.
"Problems like drug and alcohol abuse, malnutrition, depression and diabetes are widespread in the Sioux’s adult community and many children see little chance of improving their lives. As a result, there has been an epidemic of youth suicide among the tribe’s children. The summer camp functions as a haven that provides hope for the children who face these difficult challenges."
After finding out about the children and their struggles, two of the seventh grade advisory groups decided to host the race with the goal of raising $1,000. The advisories of Ms. Lorraine Stewart and Mr. Bo Chamberlain have been soliciting corporate sponsors and encouraging local elementary school students to participate. The school with the most runners will receive a trophy, as will the runner wearing the most green.
A donation as small as $10 can send a child to camp for a day. To support the students’ efforts, donations in the form of a check can be made out to The Baylor School can be sent to:
Simply Smiles Fundraiser
C/O Mr. Bo Chamberlain
171 Baylor School Road
Chattanooga, TN 37405