The second annual Kids Race Against Cancer took place in St. Michael’s Preserve Park on a beautiful fall morning with a short race for young children and a one-mile race for all ages.
Race organizer and fourth grader at Big Woods Elementary, Haley Roth, welcomed twelve young participants Sept 21 and shared a vision of how race donations could help the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
After the race Haley talked about why she wants to continue to host it every year. “I learned a lot of things about cancer, and sometimes it comes back, over and over. So I wanted to keep running this race over and over so I could help.“
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Laura and Brian Roth, Haley’s mom and dad, encouraged their daughter’s natural desire to reach out and help other people, but they didn’t agree right away when Haley wanted to organize this race for the first time last year.
Laura’s own participation in a race for a cause came about the same time Haley was determining what to do to fulfill a goal to serve someone else from the Faith in God guidebook she had received from the children’s program at her church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Otsego.
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Organizing the race helped Haley not only develop compassion for sick children, but her mom said, “She’s learned to be brave and share her passions.”
In planning this event Haley has also learned organization, how to reach out of her comfort zone and how to speak out for causes that are important to her.
“It’s not that she is just reaching into her own piggy bank, but she’s asking others to help,” Laura said.
