On Saturday, September 16 Miami Valley residents will once again take part in Dayton Free to Breathe’s annual 5K Run/Walk to support lung cancer research.
The event moves to a new venue this year and will be held at The Dayton Raceway at Hollywood Gaming.
Kathleen Fennig, a lung cancer survivor, is the local event coordinator for Free to Breathe. She says her involvement with the organization is a direct result of her diagnosis.
"I felt like maybe if I volunteered maybe God would keep me alive because validate my life or validate my being,” she says. “So I started volunteering for Free to Breathe, and I went to my fist walk in 2011. I was so, so disappointed in the number of people that were there and also the low number of survivors, and that was when I decided I needed to do something about this. This just wasn’t right.”
Since 2005, Free to Breathe has raised over $16 million toward research and educational programs through local events like the run/walk. In 2016 the event brought in more than $30,000. They hope to surpass that figure this year.
Fennig says every dollar counts for the more than 224,000 people diagnosed in the U.S with lung cancer each year.
This year’s event, in addition to the new venue at Dayton Raceway, will include music from a local DJ, complimentary snacks, a silent auction, and face-painting for kids.
To register and begin fundraising, visit www.freetobreathe.org/dayton.
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