5K race to benefit Teen Institute

Do you live in Marion, Ohio and its environ? If yes, come out and support an annual race sponsored by the Marion Board of Realtors.

The race benefits Marion County Teen Institute. Marion County Teen Institute encourages teenagers to make "positive, drug-free choices."

Marion County Teen Institute, which operates under the direction of Marion-Crawford Prevention Programs, will receive the proceeds from the Run Drugs Out of Town 5K Run/Walk, which is scheduled for May 7 at McKinley Park in Marion. The event marks its third year after two successful runs, according to Angela Tanner from the Board of Realtors.

"The last few years we've had just a little over a hundred runners," Tanner said. "We're hoping to have more than that this year."

To register for the race, visit the website racepenguin.com and search for Run Drugs Out of Town 5K under the events tab. Registration on the day of the race begins at 8 a.m. The race begins at 9 a.m.

Tanner said the Arnita Pittman Community Recovery Center and Foundations Recovery Center were the beneficiaries of funds raised during the first two races in 2014 and 2015. She said the event generated $16,000 in 2014 and $15,000 last year. The group hopes to raise $15,000 again this year. Tanner said organizers decided to shift the focus of the funds from recovery to prevention for this year's race.

"We had a few things that were brought up to try, but we decided to go with the Marion County Teen Institute program," she said. "They're going to help out on the day of the race. They've done some fundraisers on a little smaller scale, so they're really excited to have a larger amount of money to use for their programs."

The thought of receiving the generous gift from the Marion Board of Realtors nearly left Teen Institute Director Jodi Galloway speechless.

"That would be like five years of Christmases," she said, laughing. "That would allow us to expand and provide lots of different opportunities for students. We also send students to a summer conference called the Ohio Teen Institute and that costs us $300 per student to go."

Marion-Crawford Prevention Programs operates under and is funded by the Crawford-Marion Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services.

Galloway said youth-led prevention is the foundation of all activities and programs Teen Institute conducts in local schools and the community.

"That involves using older kids to train younger kids," Galloway said. "Whether it's high school working with middle school, middle school working with elementary, or even college kids working with high school kids, we train them to take an active role in promoting positive, drug-free choices among their peers. As they get older, they receive more and more training, more and more responsibilities, so at each step there's additional opportunities for education, leadership and program delivery."

Students must commit to keeping their lives free of alcohol, tobacco and drugs in order to serve in leadership roles with Teen Institute. Every high school in Marion County is represented on the youth advisory board.

"They meet with me once a month to help me plan different activities for the county," Galloway said.

For information about Teen Institute, visit the website www.marioncrawfordti.org. The group maintains a Facebook page and a Twitter account, @MCTeenInstitute.

Tanner said, to date, 50 runners have registered for the 5K run/walk. She said the Board of Realtors is seeking more runners and sponsors to participate in the event.

For information about Run Drugs Out of Town, contact the Marion Board of Realtors at 740-387-2928.

eacarter@gannett.com

740-375-5154

Twitter: @AndrewCarterMS