Over the past couple of weeks, the LHS girls cross country team participated in a fundraiser by working with Running for a Cause, a charity that helps military veterans and their families.
The team raised more than $2,900 for the charity by asking for donations and selling digital camouflage t-shirts. Some girls worked bake sales, while others babysat neighbors to help the cause.
“We try and stress to the team that they shouldn’t just go home and ask for a check. Hopefully they visit neighbors and family members,” stated head coach Mr. Bill Etnyre.
Mark Robinson, a Running for a Cause athlete, worked with the team throughout the process to help make it run smoothly. Over the summer, Mr. Robinson visited LHS to work with a group of girls cross country runners to run them through a team building boot camp. The team enjoyed his company, and this is where they came up with the idea of donating to this charity.
“It made me feel great inside when I found out how much money we raised for the fundraiser,” stated senior Jenny Schick. “It’s awesome that just a little bit of money from everyone on the team can make such an impact.”
Running for a Cause works with the Semper Fi fund, so this is ultimately where all of this money is going. Since 2004, the Semper Fi fund has totaled more than $96 million in assistance for over 12,300 injured or critically ill members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
At the LHS cross country invite on September 20, Robinson was there to run the coaches’; race after all other races were completed. Carrying a 40-pound rucksack, an American flag in one hand and a POW/MIA flag in another, Mark proudly ran the 2-mile race with a gas mask and combat boots to show his appreciation for the team and his country. In the last 200 meters of the race, the entire girls cross country team followed behind him while cheering and chanting “U.S.A.”
“We live in a community that has so much,” stated Mr. Etnyre. “It’s nice to be able to give back to those who defend our freedom on a daily basis.”
