Route offers scenic tour of several historic sites in downtown Montgomery
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Tamika Reed, the wife of Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, will serve as the honorary chairwoman of the Women In Training, Inc. 3rd Annual 5K Race to End Poverty. PERIOD! on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Old Alabama Town, to raise proceeds for menstrual hygiene products that serve people in need.
“As an advocate of both women’s rights and the importance of physical fitness, I am pleased to serve once again as honorary chairwoman of the WIT 5K Race to End Poverty. PERIOD!” said Reed, an investment banker/attorney who is also the chairperson of the Move Montgomery Health and Wellness Task Force and the 100 Women Strong Committee.
“This event promotes healthy physical activity while also raising money to ensure that everyone has access to the hygiene products they need in order to live their lives to the fullest extent," Reed continued.
The 5K is a fundraiser for Women In Training, Inc.’s (WIT’s) signature WITKITS Campaign to provide menstrual products and hygiene items to young, low-income people who menstruate. Because of the economic fallout from the pandemic, the number of girls and women who cannot afford menstrual products has increased from one in five to one in four, causing them to miss school, class, work or similar obligations because they do not have the products they need. Many girls who struggle to afford period products resort to using paper towels, rags, socks and other items that place their health in jeopardy.
The race will begin at 7:30 a.m. at Old Alabama Town, 301 Columbus Street, Montgomery.
“Participants will walk or run on a hilly course along the streets of downtown Montgomery,” said Laurie Edmondson, Co-Race Director.
“They will enjoy a visual tour of several historic sites in downtown Montgomery, including Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church where Martin Luther King Jr. pastored while living in Montgomery during the Civil Rights Movement, the Alabama State Capitol where King gave a speech about voting rights at the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and the spot where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus, energizing the civil rights movement,” Edmondson said.
To sponsor the WIT 5K, please contact Dr. Lee A. Farrow, Race Chairwoman and Secretary of the WIT Board of Directors, at lfarrow@aum.edu.
Here are the sponsorship levels:
Platinum $2000 or above
Four complimentary race entries that include race shirts; large logo on race shirt; top billing on sponsor listing, website, and other social media; option to set up table at race (table provided)
Gold $1000
Two complimentary race entries that include race shirts; small logo on race shirt; large print on sponsor listing, website, and other social media; option to set up table at race (table provided)
Silver $500
One complimentary race entry that include race shirts; listing on race shirt; mention on sponsor listing, website, and other social media; option to set up table at race
Bronze $250
Listing on race shirt; option to set up table at race
Other Door prizes, awards, in-kind offerings, refreshments, etc.
Since its founding in July 2019 by twins Breanna and Brooke Bennett on their 12th birthday, WIT has distributed more than 15,000 WITKITS of menstrual, dental and hygiene products to girls and women in need across Alabama. Women in Training was instrumental in the unanimous passage in 2022 of Alabama’s House Bill 50, the period poverty law that allocates $200,000 to the Alabama Department of Education to provide menstrual products to students in Title I schools at no charge. The actual cost to provide menstrual products to the more than 56,000 menstruators in public schools is $3 million annually; therefore, Women in Training continues to help meet the gap through its WITKITS Campaign.
To register for the Women In Training, Inc. 3rd Annual 5K Race to End Poverty. PERIOD! click here. Onsite registration will begin at 6:30 a.m., just before the race.