LIMA — Laughter, cheering and color filled the air Saturday morning as over 140 people gathered at Faurot Park on South Cole Street to participate in the Color Run 3K event presented through a partnership between the Lima Rotary Club, the new University of Northwestern Ohio Rotaract Club and the Bath High School Interact Club.
“We are a new club,” Rotaract Club President Nikolina Nikolic said. “This is our first year in existence. We’re very active in the community, and we decided to have a color run.”
There were a long list of sponsors including Walmart, Tim Hortons, Arby’s, Barnes & Noble and many more, Nikolic said. The white T-shirts (which did not say white for long) the runners wore were donated by PROforma Add-a-line.
“All the funds will go to tackling the opiate addiction and homelessness problem in the area,” Nikolic said.
Joe Kitchen from the Lima Rotary Club said because this was the first year they were holding the run they didn’t have a goal in mind for how much money they wanted to collect.
“They asked us to get involved so we could see the kinds of things they do for the community,” said Bath High School junior and member of the Interact Club, Tori Dackin, who was preparing to run the race with friends; Drew Spragg, Alenna Bible, both seniors at Bath High School and recent graduate Andrew Reynolds.
“We all like to run,” Spragg said. “As far as liking to run goes.”
Before the race began at 9:30 a.m. Executive Director of Mental Health and Recovery Services Michael Schoenhofer addressed the crowd, thanking them for coming out in support of a great cause.
“We’re experiencing anywhere from five to 10 overdoses a week. Coleman has 20 people a week showing up to try to get help. The good news is that we’re going to have detox here locally at St. Rita’s,” he said. “But here’s what I want you to think about as you’re running today. This is a fun thing. And I want you to think about the three year olds to sixteen or seventeen year olds that are not addicted.
“And, that we can make a difference in keeping them drug free by reaching out and connecting with them and their parents and talking about the issue. We’re trying to raise money to get some information to every parent’s hand so that the next generation won’t experience the issues we’re experiencing today.”
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