Dakota Ridge Meet to Raise Funds for Boston Marathon Bombing Victims

Special to Colorado Track XC by Carson Hume

The events of the past few days surrounding the Boston Marathon have been gut-wrenching and, as a fellow runner, I felt a tugging to somehow support and encourage the victims of the tragedy.

This weekend, for the Dakota Ridge Invitational at Jeffco Stadium the Dakota Ridge Track Booster Club has agreed to price tickets at $6 for adults and $4 for students, senior citizens, military, etc.; however, $1 of every ticket will automatically go into a fund for a victim or family of a victim.  There will also be a donation jar at the meet if spectators would like to donate additional money towards the cause.  The One Fund Boston, Inc., has been set up by the Governor of Massachusetts and the Mayor of Boston for victims of the tragedy; however, ideally, the plan is to send the money directly to a family/victim so that there is no possibility of the money being lost in some sort of black hole.  As of right now, a specific victim/family has not been chosen, but in the next few days, I will be scouring the news for a specific victim/family in need.

Ultimately, the goal is to raise $10,000 (or more) and, hopefully, we will continue this fundraising into the Jeffco 4A/5A League Meets as well as the State Meet.  However, we are still awaiting approval for those meets.  We have also been contacted about the possibility of coordinating with other school districts to pool our resources for this fund.  I hope as a running community and as a state we can pull together to support our fellow runners and Americans.

This plan has the support of the Dakota Ridge High School administration:

"One of the four icons of Dakota Ridge is leaving a legacy.  Dakota Ridge is supporting Carson Hume and our men's and women's track team in helping out the Boston community with a fundraising effort to benefit victims that were tragically impacted participating in the sport they love." - Matt Heckel Dakota Ridge High School Athletic Director

Thank you kindly for your support of this worthwhile cause!