Front Row (L-R) Caitlin Roberts, Brooklyn Smith, Lucas
Wilson, Tyler Gerwig, Chris Goad, Dan Cosgrove (Coordinator)
Back Row (L-R) Brandy Dobbins, Cassie Dobbins, Diana Hall,
Makensy Bailey, Monica Heiney, William Baker, and Tyler Sims
By Dan Cosgrove
The Sunday Charleston Gazette-Mail Newspaper had an article and pictures of people who attended Komen's Race for the Cure in front of the Capitol Building on Saturday. What they didn't tell you was about a dozen Calhoun Students who were instrumental in making it a successful event.
A request was made, if Calhoun Middle could provide about a dozen students to help set up for the race. Seventh grade students were asked if anyone was interested, and about 70 students volunteered. Through a random drawing the list was finally narrowed.
The Race started at 9:00 a.m. However, the volunteers had to start around 5:30 a.m. Do the math and you can quickly see alarm clocks in Calhoun were going off at about 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
Students worked all morning, setting up tables and chairs, building scaffolding to hold the banners and balloons, tying up the banners, moving tons of ice, filling up huge containers with bottled water and yogurt, staging box after box of bananas, and placing trash receptacles around the capitol, and checking them throughout the day.
During the race these students became cheerleaders, encouraging the runners and walkers. Some even ran with runners near the finish line, motivating them to make a strong finish. When the race was over, students took a deep breath of relief until they realized there was still the clean-up!
Of course these students didn't come to Charleston by themselves. Parents were also dragged into their "adventure". Parents' alarm clocks probably went off first. I'm sure most of the kids were asleep when parents made the long drive to Charleston, and many jumped right in beside the kids, working just as hard. Parent efforts were greatly appreciated. I promise the next "adventure" will be closer to home.
The Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer survivorship, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease.
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