Not even a little rain can keep a Good Samaritan down. On cold and rainy Saturday morning the Samaritan Counseling Centers, Inc. hosted their Samaritan Skedaddle 5k walk/run in Michigan City. The event brought together participants that bared the weather in order to raise money to help subsidize fees for community members who need Samaritan Counseling Centers, Inc.’s services.
Click here to see more photos from the race!
This is the 12th year that the Samaritan Council Centers have put on the Skedaddle, which is also done in association with Franciscan St. Health of Michigan City. True to their motto of ‘Body, Mind, Spirit and Community’ the race promotes the health of their runners as well as the people who need the help to utilize their programs. Ylva Haddadin, Board Secretary for the Board of Directors at the Samaritan Council Center, said that the run promotes the concept of wellbeing in the Michigan City community.
“Knowing the community is supporting us and spreading out the word to people who might be in need is tremendous,” Haddadin stated. “It really does take a village to support a community and their support helps others heal in times of need. This also goes right along with our motto, and physical activity does really help you in a lot of ways other than just exercise like creating a better environment for day-to-day stress. The 5k is a good way to complete all of those things.”
Samaritan's supporters were along the same mission. The race was helped out by many sponsors, but Franciscan Alliance was one of those easy connections to make with the Council. Ellen Sharpe, Administration Director of Efficient Outreach Marketing at Franciscan Alliance, agreed by saying that the marriage of a 5k and the Council helps tie together many different positive aspects of their runners’ health.
“The people and doctors at the hospital are all about promoting healthy lifestyles, keeping fit, and promoting good physical and mental health,” Sharpe stated. This fits in with our message as well, so it’s a great synergy between us, the Samaritan Counci,l and the event that all of us are here to witness.”
While the Skedaddle participants were running through the north side of Michigan City, it seemed the weather wasn’t in their favor. The blowing wind and rain could have deterred the participants, it didn’t stop them from still giving it their all that morning. Over 200 people showed up to take on the lakeside course, and every one of them finished the race with confidence. Stephanie Sobecki, a chorus teacher who came with a group of around 30 students from Barker Middle School, said that though the rain and the cold was tough for some she was glad to be out there with the kids.
“As teachers we really want to be out here supporting them for a morning of doing something a little different. This gets them to be a team, do something fun, and really promote their health,” Sobecki stated. “The wind might have hit the kids hard, but it was good that they still came on a morning like this. We’re also just proud to be here in numbers to support an organization that provides something kids might need and that also helps out our families.”
After the race was finished everyone took shelter from the weather, but their morning will still be looked back on as a time well spent. Next year the Samaritan Skedaddle will maybe luck out with better weather conditions, but no matter what they will still be there due to a community that recognizes the importance of their counseling and educational services. Health, community, and wellbeing is what the Samaritan Council is all about and it shows that the people in Michigan City are all about it too.