REXBURG— This Saturday morning a local family is holding a 5K and fun run to raise adoption funds to help them grow their family.
Members of the Blanchard family are no strangers to the adoption process. With two adopted children Jake and Karen Blanchard have experienced firsthand the hurdles and costs, ranging in tens of thousands of dollars, needed for various fees and agencies prior to adoption.
“They've adopted twice before, it's just always such a hard thing because of the expenses,” said McKell Swensen, Jake Blanchard’s sister and an organizer of the event. “It's so hard to watch them struggle to make it work to get another baby, and I just felt like this was a great opportunity to try to get the community to kind of rally around them.”
Runners are invited to Riverside Park in Rexburg and can choose between registering for a 5K or a single mile family friendly fun run. Runners are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes for the races.
“We're inviting everybody that comes to come in costume,” Swensen said. “It's a good opportunity for people that have come up with some great Halloween costumes to have one more way to show off their costume every year.”
In addition to the 5K and fun run there will be vendors, a silent auction and other activities at the park.
“After the run, we're hoping people will stick around at the park,” Swensen said. “There's going to be some rock climbing, face painting and a couple of little vendors to grab some snacks and things like that. Along with all the other activities that we have going on at Riverside Park, we're also going to be having a silent auction going on. We’ve had some local businesses and different people that have donated some things, so people can come and contribute financially that way if they can.”
The Monster Dash 5K and fun run will be held on Saturday at Riverside Park in Rexburg. The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. You can register, donate and find more information at the event rexburgfunrun.com