Finding Our Stride, an Upper Valley nonprofit that supports youth wellness and connects young people with their community through free activity-based afterschool programs throughout the area, will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a Community Color Splash & Dash on May 31 at Thetford Academy’s Woods Trail Course.
The event will feature three courses — a 5K, a 3K and a 300-meter run for children 5 and under — with participants showered in colors as they run or walk. It also serves as a fundraiser for the organization.
“Because we provide our program free to all participants, we need to raise funds somehow to both pay our coaches’ stipends, to buy shoes for kids who are in need, we provide healthy snacks, we provide busing for certain kids to come to Dartmouth’s CHaD HERO,” Executive Director Greg DeFrancis said.
The afterschool programming operates in 27 area schools, running eight weeks twice a week. It serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade, depending on the school, with activities that include running games and work on social and emotional skills.
“All of those expenses give you a budget of $400,000, and so we raise funds through private donations through private foundations and corporate sponsors — so this is another way that we are able to raise funds for the program,” he added.
In the spring, students take part in school-organized fundraisers. In the fall, they fundraise for the CHaD HERO race, which benefits the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover.
The event also gives the organization a chance to engage with families beyond those already in the program.
“This is an event where we can actually bring our work to families throughout the Upper Valley, so it’s not just for the kids that are already in the program but for other families as well,” DeFrancis said.
Current Finding Our Stride students and children 5 and under may participate at no charge. Pre-registration costs $20 for those ages 6 to 18 and $30 for adults. Day-of registration is $5 more per age group.
Same-day registration and bib pickup are scheduled for 10 a.m. The 5K and 3K courses start at 11 a.m., and the 300-meter course opens at noon. Yard games, raffles and other activities are also planned.
“Fifteen years ago, Finding Our Stride began with a simple belief: when young people are active, supported, and connected to something bigger than themselves, good things happen,” DeFrancis said in a news release. “This event is a joyful way to celebrate that mission while helping ensure more kids have access to these life-changing opportunities.”
For more information, visit: findingourstride.org/splash-and-dash.
