Not even a Pandemic will stop our awesome patients, families and friends from supporting childhood wellness, even in a virtual way. Though we faced some challenges this year, we are happy that with the support of our community, event sponsors and dedicated team we were able to successfully put on our 2020 Virtual 5K Color Run: Run for a Cause.

“I think the most successful thing about this year’s Color Run was the transition of an in-person event to a virtual one,” says Courtney Martinez, Color Run Coordinator. With Othello being in Phase 2 at the time, and not showing any promise that they would move to Phase 4, we decided that this was the best decision for us and the community.

“We transitioned the Color Run into a virtual run by allowing participants the flexibility of running the course any day of the week of the event,” says Courtney. After finishing the course, participants could sign into the Color Run website and log in their time. This year we were able to recognize and award the fastest male and female runners with an Amazon Echo!

We had a total of 563 registrants for the Virtual Color Run and raised $24,500 through sponsors, donors, vendors and participants. Our staff was able to participate in the cause by donating a minimum amount, which then allowed them to wear jeans on “jeans days.” Patients, community members and staff also contributed to the CBHA Café Round Up fundraiser. Every time someone ordered from the café, they had the opportunity to round up to the nearest dollar and those extra funds would go to the Color Run.

The funds raised from the run will be given back to the communities in different ways: the Parks and Recreational Departments in each of our cities will receive $5,000; three families in need will receive $1,000; and $5,000 will be donated to the Cure Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) foundation.

With the current state of COVID-19, we aren’t sure what next year will look like, but we already know how to successfully plan a virtual run. We are confident that we will put on a Color Run in 2021, whether it’s in-person or virtual. We are also looking into possibly having a run in Connell or Mattawa!

We want to give a big thank you to our sponsors and our communities! This run would not have happened if it wasn’t for all of you. If you haven’t joined us for a race yet, we highly encourage you to do so next year. “Our focus for this event is on the health and wellness of our kids in our communities. There is no better feeling than giving back and blessing someone else,” Nieves Gomez, CEO.

Here are some stories from this year’s participants: