Submitted photo The annual Run For It charitable fundraising event is set for Sept. 23 in Davis.

ELKINS — Teams from Randolph County and around the region are getting ready to vy for more than $86,000 in Run For It awards.

Run For It is an annual 2k walk/5k race hosted by the Tucker Community Foundation. The race will be on the streets of Davis on Saturday, Sept. 23, starting at 11 a.m. during the annual Leaf Peepers Festival. 

Proceeds from the event will support nonprofit organizations, educational programs, civic groups, community projects and charities across the region.

The event will feature 77 teams, including squads from Barbour, Grant, Mineral, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, and Tucker counties in West Virginia and Garrett County in Maryland. 

The 18 Randolph County teams set to race this year are Elkins-Randolph County Public Library, Augusta Heritage Center, O.U.R. House Runners, Beverly Heritage Center, BSA Troop 88, Knights of Columbus #603, Team Pioneer, Meals on Wheels, Highlands Trail Foundation, Amazing Art (The Arts Center), Randolph Tucker CAC, Helvetia Public Library, Davis Health Foundation, Youthbuild North Central WV, Randolph County CLIMB, Inc., Literacy Volunteers of Randolph County, The Giving Mountain, and ArtBank Art Educators. 

Randolph County residents can support their favorite teams by entering the race as a participant for that team and making team sponsor donations to as many as they wish. Randolph County teams have brought home close to $323,000 in awards and team sponsor donations over the years.   

To learn more about each of these teams, sign up to participate, or donate to your favorite cause(s), please visit the registration site, runsignup.com/Race/WV/Davis/RunForIt. You can register online until 9:30 a.m. on race day.

Team sponsor donations postmarked or made online by Sept. 18 help teams leverage additional support. Racers can also register onsite on Friday, Sept. 22 from 5-7 p.m., or Saturday, Sept. 23 from 8-9:30 a.m.   

The Run For It program beganin 2007 to provide additional money for the region. Since then, $2.74 million has been distributed for a wide array of causes benefitting a growing number of communities. 

The race starts and finishes at the Davis Fire Hall on W.V. 32.  Residents, visitors and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and abilities — and well-behaved leashed dogs — can enjoy early fall leaf peeping, food, music and festivities as they walk, stroll, ru, or roll in a wheelchair or stroller for a good cause. 

For more information, call the Foundation office at 304-478-2930. 

The Tucker Community Foundation manages more than 140 endowed funds providing annual scholarships and grants to nonprofits and charitable causes throughout the eight-county service area. Inspired by the flood of 1985, the mission of the Foundation is to create opportunities for the communities. For more information on the Foundation or how to establish an endowed fund, call 304-478-2930 or visit www.tuckerfoundation.net.