With the Lighthouse Dash 5K raising approximately $56,000 over the last few years for the Petal Children’s Task Force – an organization that serves 458 families with food and school uniforms – officials are looking forward to another successful event this weekend.
The eighth annual Lighthouse Dash 5K will be held Feb. 15 beginning at Petal Civic Center, 712 South Main Street in Petal. All proceeds from the event will go toward to the task force’s food bank and will be used to put together food boxes for the community.
“We’ve got to have food on our shelves,” said Demaris Lee, director of the Petal Children’s Task Force. “We are so low with food, and all this money will go toward purchasing food to put food on our shelves.”
Participants in the Lighthouse Dash can choose between a 2-mile walk or a 5K run, each with a registration fee of $30. Participants will begin at Hinton Park behind the civic center and continue down blocked-off city streets, with the runners and walkers eventually veering to separate courses.
Participants can register at the civic center at 7 a.m. on race day, or from 5-7 p.m. the day before at the center, and all registrants will receive a T-shirt.
The 5K run and 2-mile walk will both begin at 8 a.m. on the day of the event.
Participants will be treated to waffles from Waffle House, refreshments from Coca-Cola, and fruit from Corner Market and Newk’s Eatery. Hardee’s will serve as this year’s event title sponsor.
Awards for the 5K run will be presented for overall, master and grandmaster finishers in both male and female categories, and group awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers in 13 different age groups.
Walk awards will be presented to the top three overall males and females, as well as to the oldest and youngest walker. Running is not allowed in the walking event.
“We have lots of age groups,” Lee said. “Also, if you want to walk as a group, you sign up, and we have a plaque we will give away to the group that has the most people. They’ll get to keep that plaque for the year, and then they’ll bring it back for next year, and they can win it again.”
Participants also will have the opportunity to win several prizes at the event.
“We have numerous, great door prizes,” Lee said. “Our grand door prize is Ramon’s Village in Ambergris Caye in Belize, and we will be giving that away.
“We also have pottery from Peter’s Pottery that’s going to be given away, and gift cards.”
Lee said the event has been a success every year since its inauguration.
“People love it,” she said. “They get nice shirts, and also you get to eat breakfast too. So we get to see everybody.”
The Petal Children’s Task Force, now in its 30th year, was founded in 1989 by Lee and Jesse Rowell. The organization got its start by feeding and providing Christmas for two families.
