'Run for Kelli' Honors Murdered Teen's Memory This Sunday

Caption: Kelli O’Laughlin loved cross country and helping people. ”Run for Kelli” will take place in her memory at Lyons Township High School in Western Springs, benefitting the Kelli O’Laughlin Memorial Foundation.

The afternoon that their daughter’s killer was sentenced to 160 years in prison, John and Brenda O’Laughlin hurried out of the Bridgeview Courthouse to attend a swim meet at Lyons Township High School and a committee meeting to discuss an upcoming fundraiser for the foundation they created in their daughter’s memory.

This Sunday, hundreds of runners will run in memory of 14-year-old Kelli Joy O’Laughlin, who was murdered three years ago after she had surprised a burglar in her Indian Park Home.

Her parents refuse to dignify their daughter’s convicted killer by mentioning his name. Instead, they choose to focus on the causes that Kelli cared about: being kind, friendships, and helping others, especially underprivileged children.

“Run for Kelli” kicks off at 8 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, on LT’s south campus cross country course at 4900 Willow Springs Road in Western Springs. The course is significant because it is where Kelli ran her last cross country race as a middle-schooler.

Proceeds raised from the run will go toward the Kelli O’Laughlin Memorial Foundation, which strives to give young adults a future by helping them meet their greatest potential for friendship, kindness, leadership skills, confidence as well as their education.

Kelli’s family has set a fundraising goal of $37,000. To date, between runner registrations and high-ticket raffle prizes, the event has raised $33,000 before Sunday’s event.

The day includes a three-mile run and one-mile walk, a DJ, prizes and raffle.

Raffle prizes include four one-day passes to Disney World, tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls and Cubs, “Taste of the Suburbs” certificates to area restaurants, gift cards for House of Color and Via Bella, a weekend stay at the Chicago Hilton, and an autographed Blackhawks jersey by Marian Houssa. Winners must be present to win.

An anonymously donated Tesla premium electric car will also be auctioned off.

Participants can run with a team or as individuals. If you don’t want to run, take part in the one-mile walk or simply buy a raffle ticket or two.

Visit “Run for Kelli” to register for the run/walk or to make a donation.

Read: ‘A Mother’s Words: Kelli’s Legacy Has Impacted the World Around Us’