Students, faculty and surrounding community members will gather at Centennial Campus for the N.C. State Habitat for Humanity’s eighth annual House Your Neighbor 5K Race and Fun Run Saturday.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Wake County Habitat for Humanity.
Throughout the event, participants will have the choice to run either a 5K or the Fun Run, a one mile route. The Fun Run will begin at 9 a.m. and the 5K at 9:20 a.m.
“We’re really excited about doing it again this year,” Colleen Carpenter, a junior in microbiology and co-fundraising officer, said. “Last year was a really big success, so this year will be even bigger. We’re just trying to keep the tradition going and growing every year.”
This year, First Ballantyne is sponsoring the event for the first time, a company that is donating $3,000 to help with race costs. According to Carpenter, the money is enough to cover the T-shirt costs, as well as the chip timers, but NCSU’s Habitat for Humanity still had to use money from its own budget for other funds.
Participants will be able to time themselves in the races with timing chips, which will time each participant until he or she crosses the finish line.
“It’s the most effective way to get runners their times back,” Carpenter said. “We have prizes for the top three winners and for first place in every age group.”
Molly Widmyer, who has been a participant in the event in the past and serves as the education outreach coordinator, said the event is a good opportunity for students to donate toward a great cause.
“It was awesome [last year] because you learn about the organization as you’re running [since] there are Habitat posters as you run,” Widmyer said. “They had information about so many people who live in poverty, substandard housing in the world, fact sheets … and also, you know your money is going towards a great organization.”
According to Carpenter, last year, the organization raised about $5,000, and this year, the goal is to raise $8,000 for the Wake County Habitat for Humanity.
“There are adding costs we have to account for, but a lot more [profit] than previous years will go back to Habitat, thanks to our sponsor,” Carpenter said.
As of Wednesday night, approximately 260 runners have registered for the race, and Carpenter said she hopes to get about 400 participants in total. Last year, on the day of the event, 60 participants had registered.
Carpenter said registration is available on the event’s Web site until noon Friday, and people will still have the opportunity to register starting at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the race at the MRC Plaza on Centennial Campus.
In addition to proceeds from donations and registration fees, Wake County Habitat for Humanity will receive proceeds from aluminum cans that participants bring to the event.
NCSU’s Habitat for Humanity is a chapter of the international Habitat for Humanity, which works for and with the Wake County organization. The Wake County organization provides the NCSU participants with work days each weekend and “keeps them in the Habitat for Humanity International loop,” according to Carpenter.
NCSU’s chapter holds two fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for its affiliate.
“We are trying to raise money to help sponsor a house in Wake County because we can’t actually sponsor one on our own,” Widmyer said. “The money that is donated or given to us from the race can really help us to build a house next year.”
