Hillsdale County’s Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness organization will host a bike race and a glow run Saturday at Lake Baw Beese and Owens Park to raise money for programs dedicated to raising awareness for child abuse.
CAPA’s 2019 CAPA Magic Ride and Pinwheel Glow 5K Run/Walk will have both a bike portion, which will start at 5:45 p.m., and a run/walk portion, which will start at 8:30 p.m. According to CAPA Executive Director Christie Campbell, the bike ride has two routes; the first is a smaller route that goes through Hillsdale, past Johnny T’s, and circles back to the lake, and the second goes to Jonesville, ending at the Udder Side, and back – a 15 mile round trip.
“There’s a family friendly and an enthusiast one,” Campbell said.
For the run/walk portion, the route will be lit up with blue pinwheels for participants.
“We will have blue pinwheels placed along the route which is the national symbol for child abuse prevention and awareness month of April,” Campbell said. “Our hope is just to bring even more awareness to Hillsdale county about child abuse prevention and awareness.”
This is CAPA’s nineteenth year hosting the “magic ride,” and it is their eighth year hosting the 5k. The glow run, however, is a change from previous years.
“It is a glow run this year, so it’s at night,” Campbell said. “That’s definitely different for us. It’s also new this year because we moved it to the month of April, which coincides with child abuse prevention month. The reason we moved it was to help bring more awareness to Hillsdale County about child abuse and prevention awareness.”
Denise Potter, co-chair of the event, said the number of participants has increased from last year up to 85.
“I attribute it to us changing it to the glow run,” Potter said. “I think it’s a better opportunity for families to get together. It’s at night, not in the early morning. It’s more appealing to younger families and young adults.”
The funds amassed from the event will go to CAPA’s child abuse programs such as Cozy Kids Campaign, which raises money for “warm sleeping apparel,” and Baby Think It Over, which uses baby simulators to foster discussion and understanding about parenthood to “deter teen pregnancies.” Campbell said she hopes that the event not only raises awareness but that it also is fun for the community.
“It is unfortunately something that’s happening here, and the more we talk about it, the more awareness we can bring and hopefully the more children we can help,” Campbell said. “We hope that this gets kids out of the house, that we have families that get involved. We hope people enjoy it and they tell their friends and we can make this event bigger next year.”
Registration for the event is $30 per person and $65 per family.
