Human Race Coming To A Close

Human Race Ends May 9; Goal Is To Raise $300,000

The goal of this year’s Human Race is to raise $300,000 for local nonprofits in a virtual fundraising campaign, according to Karen Delaney, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, sponsor of the event for 40 years.

“We know that this public health emergency is already having a huge emotional and economic toll on our community and we stand ready to support our fellow nonprofits at the frontlines of community wellness and connection,” Delaney said.

“We have been working with our nonprofit and training partners to shift the Human Race to a 100% virtual fundraising campaign,” she said. “We feel confident the Human Race will remain a testament to how we pull together as a community to spread hope and generosity, even in the most challenging of times.”

Over the past 40 years, the Human Race has raised close to $15 million for nonprofit and school partners making it the largest collaborative fundraiser on the central coast.

Last year, more than 1,500 participants and nearly 10,000 donors raised $250,000 in support of 90+ participating nonprofits, schools and community groups — and 80 percent of the funds were online donations.

The Volunteer Center extended the deadline to register for the Giving Campaign to give new agencies more time to set up their online profile, receive online training, and prep to launch the six-week campaign that started March 25.

So far, the top fundraisers are:

• Simone Hooker, Imagine Supported Living Services
• Sunrose House, Camphill Community California (Soquel)
• Carol Williamson, NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness Santa Cruz County
• Team Sophie, Imagine Supported Living Services
• Claire Castagna, Literacy Program
• Pat Gorman, Jesus Mary Joseph Home
• Amanda Espindola, Families in Transition
• Ron Morin, Literacy Program
• Tyrene Partlow, NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness Santa Cruz County
• Elisa Bargetto, Santa Cruz SPCA

To support your favorite nonprofit or community group, visit https://www.humanracesc.org/

The Volunteer Center has put together a list of volunteer opportunities during the shelter in place order https://scvolunteercenter.org/events-2/covid-19-services-available/. They include: Volunteering to make cards for lonely senior citizens, assisting at blood drives, helping with food distribution, taking calls on the domestic violence hotline, census phone outreach and making masks.

Second Harvest Food Bank has a need for more volunteers and can register volunteers directly at shfb.org

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Story By Christine Loewe, director of communications at the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County.