BUCKHANNON – Grab your running or walking shoes and sign up to help the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation by participating in the 13th Annual Pi-K Run/Walk.

The exercise-focused fundraiser is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct.12 at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon.

Alpha Delta Pi philanthropy chair Cristal Espinosa said the event will coincide with WVWC Homecoming Weekend.

“We know families will be coming in to enjoy Homecoming and hope they will sign up to participate in the event,” Espinosa said. “The Pi-K Run/Walk is pet-friendly, kid-friendly and will offer lots of fun.”

Espinosa said organizers will be selling raffle tickets the day of the run/walk and winners will have some great prizes. Some include an apple basket, with a pumpkin and a mum pot; cosmetics and accessories, including a headband, scrunchie and earrings; a gift certificate to Don Patron for $80; Quantum Bean coffee beans, potted succulent and three candles; a Bobcat basket with two shirts, a glass cup, a shot glass, a lanyard and four coasters; a Bobcat basket with two shirts, a 16-ounce travel mug, a lanyard and a keychain; and four Sam’s Pizza gift certificates.

Raffle tickets will be $2 each, $5 for three or an arm’s length for $10.

“We will have a lot of prizes to give out to those winning the raffles,” Espinosa said. “Also, the top three runners will receive prizes as well.”

Espinosa said the first participant to cross the finish line will win “a college survival kit” with a basket from Fish Hawk Acres, a $20 gift certificate to Fish Hawk Acres and a $20 Sheetz gift card. The second-place winner will receive a “Date Night on Main Street’ kit with a Stone Tower Brews $10 gift card, an XXL Stone Tower Brews shirt, a Stone Tower Brews 12-ounce hydro flask and a Pita My Heart $25 gift card.

Finally, the third-place overall winner will receive a “Movie Night” kit containing four Upshur Cinema 6 movie tickets and a $10 Walmart Card.

“Little Glass Slipper, [a company] which features young ladies portraying the parts of fairy princesses, will be on hand during the Pi-K Run/Walk from 9 to 10 a.m.,” she said. “We will feature those dressed up as the Ice Sisters, and the Ice Sisters will be available for photos with kids. We will be accepting any dollar amount donations for families taking pictures of their children with the Ice Sisters.”

In the last couple of years, the Pi-K Run/Walk has mostly centered on the students at WVWC. Espinosa said this year, they are reaching out to the community members for participation as well.

“During the beginning years of the event, more community members did participate in the Pi-K Run/Walk,” Espinosa said. “However, this year, we are really hoping to have great participation from the Buckhannon Community, the WVWC Community and the students.”

Espinosa said those registering for the Pi-K Run/Walk can take advantage of an early bird fee.

“The early bird fee is $10 per person until Monday, October 7,” Espinosa said. “Those who register from October 8 through the day of the race, October 12, will be charged $15 per person. Students with a student ID will have a $5 registration fee.”

Sign-ups and additional information is available online or by emailing adpi.phil.gk@gmail.com.

Sponsors for the Pi-K Run/Walk include Fish Hawk Acres, Pita My Heart, Green Acres Farm, Stone Towers Brews, Little Glass Slipper, Triangle Auto, The Sign Guy, Don Patron in Weston, State Farm Insurance Jen Kesling, Isaac Lopez Training Facility, Mere Image Hair Salon, Law Office of Daya Masada Wright, Dough Re Mi, Tateep Unique Boutique LLC, Merle Norman Cosmetics, Three Little Buds, Upshur Cinema 6, Mountain Oak Candle Company, Quantum Bean Coffee, Bobcat Den, Anita’s Flowers, Sam’s Pizza, Woodlands Assisted Living Facility Inc., Mountain State Martial Arts and Fitness LLC and My Buckhannon.

Espinosa said proceeds from the event go to the local Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation. She said the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation helps sisters of the sorority through scholarships and financial aid help as well as in cases of emergencies.

She said the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority has helped raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities since 1979 and in the last academic year, Alpha Delta Pi Sororities nationwide raised more than $1 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“The Ronald McDonald Houses in West Virginia are located in Morgantown, Charleston and Huntington,” Espinosa said.

“We hope folks will come out and have a great time and participate in the Pi-K Run/Walk,” she added. “The event will begin at the fountain by the Wesley Chapel on the campus of WVWC. The race begins at 8 a.m., so people will need to register by email, online or before the race steps off.”

Don’t miss this great opportunity to have some fun in the sun with family, friends and pets, while raising money for a great cause. According to their website, Ronald McDonald House Charities provide a “home away from home” for families to have the opportunity to be by their child’s bedside as they undergo life-saving medical treatments.

RMHC has a mission to ensure to provide an environment which is supportive, caring and responsive to the needs of its families. Being primary donation-based, it is dependent on the contributions of those more fortunate to be able to give their time to those who are afflicted, according to its website.

To learn more, click here.