Annual Race to End Domestic Abuse set
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Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom |
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
GUILFORD — On Sunday, Oct. 4 runners and walkers will take off from Piscataquis Community Elementary School in the Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance’s 19th annual Race to End Domestic Abuse.
The 5-kilometer or 3.1-mile race, which follows a community breakfast, begins events for Domestic Violence Awareness Month organized by the Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance (the respective Penobscot and Piscataquis county agencies merged several years ago to pool resources to end domestic violence).
“The first event will be the Race to End Domestic Abuse,” said Alison Weiss of the Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance. The race and walk — the event is the largest single fundraiser in Piscataquis County for the organization — both begin at 9 a.m., with the registration table opening at 8 a.m. and the community breakfast starting in the school cafeteria at 7:30 a.m.
Weiss said registrations and pledge sheets can be found at www.sprucerun.net and the agency Facebook page, and participants are encouraged to share through social media. Those pre-registering can enter for a reduced fee as well as to guarantee a long-sleeved performance T-shirt promoting the event.
“This year we are going to have electronic race timing for the first time, we are excited about that,” Weiss said.
“It will be accurate race timing,” Angie Alfonso of the Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance said. She said under this method, conducted by a professional road race timing company, participants will know their times as soon as they cross the finish line and hopefully this will encourage many of the participants to stay for the ensuing awards ceremony and random prize drawing with all of the day’s participants eligible to have their names drawn. Later in the day the full results are scheduled to be posted online.
“Because the event is back at the school, the start and finish is closer to the school,” Alfonso said. The course starts by the elementary school and heads down Campus Drive to the Piscataquis River Walk, where entrants will then take a left on Route 23 to head to Route 15 where they will run or walk back to the school.
“One of the things we are excited about this year is the outpouring of sponsorships for the T-shirts,” Alfonso said, with these participating businesses coming from both counties.
“We got vests this year for folks who bring in at least $100 in pledges,” Weiss said about another incentive for the Race to End Domestic Abuse. The black vests have a purple ribbon — the color for domestic violence awareness.
Medals will be awarded to the first- and second-place male and female finishers in four different age categories, and the top two overall runners will receive $125 Salomon gift certificates.
“We tried to make the sure the pricing was really fair,” Weiss said about the Oct. 4 community breakfast. The menu includes pancakes, bacon, eggs souffle, fresh apples and donuts from Elaine’s Cafe and Bakery.
The Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance is planning a pair of walks for Domestic Violence Month. The first will be from 5-6:30 p.m. in downtown Lincoln on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and the second is during the day from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Bangor on Thursday, Oct. 22, starting at West Market Square.
Another endeavor for October is the “Paint our Counties Purple Campaign,” Weiss said as residents, businesses and others are encouraged to dress in or decorate in purple to help spread the message. The Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance has window displays available that feature a purple ribbon, the words end domestic violence as help as the number for the 24-hour helpline at 1-866-834-HELP.
Alfonso and Weiss said another Domestic Violence Awareness Month activity is “The Big Purple Ribbon Facebook Campaign” in which people are asked to think about the phrase “love is …” They are then encouraged to post their thoughts on Facebook with #bigpurpleribbon. The Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance has a purple ribbon with chalkboard people can write their words on, such as to pose for a photo to be posted on social media.
“The 14th of October is a day for health care providers to highlight domestic violence awareness,” Weiss said. “We sent out posters with tear-offs and factsheets.” She said doctors will help increase awareness and some will be writing op-eds on the subject.
Through the “Knowledge and Power Campaign” books for children, teenages and adults are distributed to libraries by the Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance. “They also get donated to local schools which I think is wonderful to put in their libraries,” Alfonso said.
She said the children’s selection is “Little Sweet Potato” by Amy Beth Bloom, the teen book “Stay” by Deb Caletti is about a protagonist trying to get out of an abusive relationship and “The Chronology of Water: A Memoir” by Linda Yuknavitch is the book for adult readers.
“We distribute those to the libraries along with visual materials such as wooden nickels and posters, and we ask them to do a display,” Weiss said.
“One of the things that’s exciting is the number of groups that have already agreed to take part in our events,” Alfonso said. “There is a tremendous amount of support as well as support for victims.” She said the Corinth United Methodist Church has a large banner on its lawn, visible to everyone driving by.
The Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance can always use volunteers, who will be trained and can perform tasks such as assisting in the office, manning the 24-hour hotline or providing a safe space for those escaping abuse. Alfonso said a volunteer training session just started, but participants can still join with the meetings taking place in Dover-Foxcroft and in Bangor. “It is an amazing opportunity to learn more,” she said.
“We are in the process of revamping our website and our hope is it will be relaunched in early October,” Weiss said. The new site will include sections designed for teenagers and volunteers as well as information for stalking victims, among other features. “It will look fresher and it will mobile friendly,” she said.