The forces of fate have conspired to curtail a 13th-annual event that was to kick off the next United Fund of Surry campaign, and while that proverbially unlucky number is involved the cancellation isn’t founded in superstition.
Instead, Downtown Rocks and Runs is yet another casualty of the coronavirus that not only has claimed many lives but laid waste to nearly every large public gathering.
That certainly would include the downtown event featuring 5K, 10K and kids fun run races and music, normally held each summer on a Saturday in early August. In 2019, more than 250 runners of all ages flooded streets and greenway facilities, accompanied by supporters and spectators jamming city sidewalks.
But last year’s success elements — namely the crowds — are this year’s health risks, leading to the United Fund of Surry shelving the 2020 edition of Downtown Rocks and Runs.
“In an effort to adhere to CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) and statewide guidelines, we believe it is in our community’s best interest to do so,” says a statement from the organization that generates funding to support 26 community agencies.
Its last, 2019-20, campaign netted $461,500 — all targeted for such entities as The Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, the Shepherd’s House homeless shelter, the American Red Cross and others of which the United Fund serves as a clearinghouse for community donations.
Downtown Rocks and Runs traditionally has played a key role in those efforts.
“It was our campaign kickoff,” said Merry Craig Boaz, who served as executive director of the United Fund of Surry for three years before recently relinquishing that position.
“It was just a good way to pull people together,” Boaz added Thursday in describing how the gathering has energized the annual fund-raising campaign in the spirit of athletic competition and unifying the public for a good cause.
The event itself usually raises about $15,000, Boaz said, which kick-starts fundraising activities for the remainder of the campaign year.
Along with entry fees paid by runners, Downtown Rocks and Runs has provided a highly visible means for various businesses to show their community support. In addition to regularly contributing to the campaign, they serve as sponsors of the event, underwriting the costs of staging it to allow the United Fund to reap all proceeds.
“It was a well-oiled machine,” Boaz said of what she witnessed with Downtown Rocks and Runs during her tenure as executive director. “It has been in existence for so long.”
Salvaging good from bad
“Our budget will have a hole in it where that event was,” new United Fund Executive Director Monique Farrell Smith said Thursday of the financial implications surrounding the cancellation of Downtown Rocks and Runs this year.
It is hoped that some other kind of kickoff event can be held in its place.
“We don’t have anything planned yet,” Smith said, citing the continuing uncertainties with COVID-19 and the inability to look even a couple of months ahead. “It’s so hard right now to plan anything.”
In the meantime, the United Fund is still hoping to piggyback off the void left by Downtown Rocks and Runs being sidelined for 2020.
It is asking for runners who normally would show their support by paying entry fees and then hitting the pavement to maintain half that equation.
“Please consider donating the equivalent of your race registration fee ($30/$40) as a show of support during this time of high need,” says the United Fund statement announcing the cancellation.
“Now more than ever, we remain committed to our mission of strengthening and serving our community by helping meet the needs of our neighbors. Thank you for your support.”
“The event is cancelled, but the giving is not cancelled and the need is not cancelled,” Smith said.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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