2nd annual Give Hope 5K returns to Veterans Park

The second annual Give Hope 5K and fun run benefiting Children’s of Alabama will take place Saturday, May 4, at Veterans Park in Hoover. 

The idea came from a group of nurses at Children’s while brainstorming about an event that would raise money to help patients at the hospital. 

Staff nurse and run coordinator Natalie Allums said she and her committee of 20 others who help put on last year’s event were pleasantly surprised at the turnout at their inaugural race. 

“For our very first one, [we] had 150 people show up,” she said. “We marketed it in-house at Children’s as well as in the community.”

The tagline for the race is “Run for a day, give hope for a lifetime,” and that’s what the group of nurses at Children’s intend to do. 

“The money raised is coming back to support our kids here at the hospital,” Allums said. “We rely on the community to help raise funds for patient care and research.”

Participants can register online at athlinks.com/event/give-hope-5k-fun-run-306500 or the morning of the race beginning at 7:30 a.m. Registration is $25 for the 5K, $10 for the fun run. The fee includes a race day T-shirt and goody bag.

The 5K will begin at 8:30 a.m. followed by the 1-mile fun run at 9 a.m. After the awards ceremony, attendees and participants are encouraged to enjoy the playground, face painting, balloon animals, live music and snacks.