.JPG)
Bruce Johnson thanks those in attendence for coming out to support the Elgin Crisis Center and the upcoming United Sates Run
Residents from Elgin, IL attended a benefit Friday in support of an upcoming run for the area’s crisis center Friday.
Douglas Street Sports Bar on the city’s northeast side hosted the charity event in support of Bruce Johnson’s upcoming United States Run. The run is set to begin January 15 in Jacksonville, FL and is scheduled to end April 15 in Morrow Bay, CA.
Johnson, an Elgin resident, said he has taken on the run before back in 2005 and wanted to do this again for Elgin’s Community Crisis Center. He said he felt - unlike Forest Gump - there was a particular reason for doing this run.
“After the first time I did [this] - when I ran from Oceanside, CA to Virginia Beach - I looked around and asked, ‘Is this it?’” Johnson said. “Now I’m doing this again, but going in the opposite direction.”
When planning his coast-to-coast run, Johnson said he began thinking of the various organizations we would like to run for. He said organizations like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association all ranked high on who he would donate his feet to, but Elgin’s Crisis Center remained at the top of his list.
“The Crisis Center seems homier and family [oriented],” Johnson said. “This way I get to see where the money is going and it’s helping a community that I grew up in my whole life.”
Gretchen Vapnar, Executive Director of Elgin’s Crisis Center, said Johnson came back after his first coast-to-coast run five years ago and told the staff he would be willing to pull off the feat again for them.
“I would put it in the miracle category,” Vapnar said. “[This time] it’s a matter of timing. [He’s doing this to raise money for us] and we certainly need all of the [monetary] help we can get [to keep our doors open].”
To keep the public informed on how the three month trek is going, Johnson will communicate through various social networking Websites. He said he is learning the tricks of social networking with the help of Sarah Evans and Olivia Munson.
“Twittering was a word I never knew before,” Johnson said. “But it seems like I’m going to be Twittering, blogging, Synching and Facebooking. Olivia and Sarah don’t follow trends, they set them, [so they are helping me out a great deal].”
During the run there are ways people can keep track of Johnson’s condition and exact location, Vapnar said. People can also contribute by buying steps on the internet, she said.
“The way we are selling it on the internet is step-by-step, foot-by-foot,” she said. “[Steps are selling for] $12.00 a foot. [There are] 5280 feet in a mile [now, multiply that by] 3000 miles. If we collected all of those steps at $12.00 a piece, we’d make $180 million.
Vapnar said she would settle for a lot less. Although, with high interest close to that amount could be reached, she said.
“When we had ‘Crisis Overnight’ we had contributions from all over the country and Canada,” Vapnar said. “With the internet nowadays, fundraising has changed quite a bit since I started.”
To date The Crisis Center has raised over $1400. To stay updated on the run and to make contributions, people are encouraged to click onto The Community Crisis Center’s Website; http://www.crisiscenter.org/run/#Donate and Bruce Johnson’s Website; http://www.unitedstatesrun.com/.
“This run is not about me,” Johnson said. “I’m making this about the Crisis Center [and the folks they help each and everyday]. So this is an adventure of a lifetime. I feel lucky to be able to do it.”
Comments