WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – Members of the Westerville community gathered Saturday for a Night of Hope, a family-friendly event to raise awareness of mental health.
The race, organized by the Westerville Education Challenge (WEC), is being held for the first time.
The 5K racers took off shortly after 6 pm for the first of three races on Saturday. A mile run set off from the starting blocks at 7 p.m., while a family run started at 7:30 p.m.
The event is about raising awareness about mental health and working to end the stigma that surrounds it.
The Westerville Education Challenge was inspired last year by one of its members, who ran for 24 hours, over 100 miles, to raise awareness of mental health. That runner’s father committed suicide, and that runner was at Saturday’s event, along with dozens of others who have personal connections to the cause.
“For us, WEC, that is our mission; provide whatever support we can,” WEC President Kristan Robertson said. “We started in our district and then trickled down to the community, and our hope is just to raise awareness and let people know they’re not alone.”
In addition to more than 100 runners, Twinkle, the district’s canine companion dog, joined the event.
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