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Race to benefit homes for needy mothers, babies
By Ambria Hammel, ahammel@catholicsun.org
October 16, 2008
TEMPE — Whenever Julie Kent’s 2-year-old son sees his mom’s running shoes around the house, he says, “Race? Race?”
Kent hopes Catholics and others in the community will lace up their running shoes for the first Race for Maggie’s Place Nov. 16.
She’s organizing the race as part of the annual Giving Birth to Dreams campaign, which raises money and awareness about the Catholic-based organization.
Maggie’s Place runs three homes for pregnant and new mothers in the Valley who would otherwise be alone. Volunteers live in community with the mothers and work with them on making positive choices to set and reach lifelong goals.
“We really want a lot of people out there,” Kent said of the race. She’s hoping more than 200 fitness-minded people will challenge themselves to the 9K run or 3K walk.
Some alumni mothers, who once lived in a Maggie’s Place home, are joining the race at Kiwanis Park in Tempe.
“I love the fact that it was a 9K, representing the nine months of pregnancy,” said Michelle, an alumni mom who likes to run.
She’s been training since May.
“We just got our wheels spinning on how to make it unique and fun,” said Mary Peterson, co-founder and executive director of Maggie’s Place.
Race’s symbolism
That’s why the run, walk and dash have unusual start times, “just like babies come at odd times,” Peterson said. The race begins at 8:23 a.m., the walk eight minutes later and the dash just before 10 a.m.
That’s also why organizers plotted the course for the 9K run to be in laps of three, one for each trimester of pregnancy. They’d also like to post words of encouragement along the path that relates to both running and giving birth, such as, “Time to push!” which runners might read near the finish line.
Organizers didn’t set a specific fundraising goal, but Kent said it would be symbolic if donors raised “9K” or $9,000. That’s not possible solely through registration, she said. However, entrants can donate additional money or gifts to Maggie’s Place.
“There’s just a lot of generous people in the running community,” Kent said. She added that the race is a great way to spread word about the pro-life organization.
It costs $20 a day to welcome a mom and baby into a Maggie’s Place home. That translates to $160,000 per year for the three Valley homes. The money covers utilities, food, a small stipend for the volunteer staff and Christmas gifts for the mothers.
Staff is putting the final touches on a fourth home in Idaho set to open later this year.
“Everything was simplicity in the house,” said Michelle, an alumni mom. She spent seven months at the Elizabeth House in Tempe, which holds six mothers and babies at once.
It’s all of those “little things that go through a house quickly” that are magnified when there’s a handful of mothers and their babies under one roof, she said.
Michelle said three mothers had twins while she lived in the house. Two others were still pregnant.
“Everything is based off of what people give them,” she said.
Clothes, food, milk, diapers and feminine hygiene products are always in demand. Other needs, which support upkeep of the house, can be found online.
Funds from the race and campaign would give the organization a backbone to get through the coming year. Maggie’s Place welcomes an average of 70 mothers and their babies every year.
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