The Pennsylvania Dutch Boy Scout Council is hosting the second annual virtual 5k and 15k race during the month of June. This year, they are collaborating with the nonprofit, Wolf Sanctuary of PA.
“Wolf Sanctuary of PA is a special place and does amazing work to help bring education about wolves and provide a home for rescued animals,” Nicole Welch, Horseshoe Trail District Executive, said. “They are located close enough to one of our Council camps that our Scouts can occasionally hear the wolves howling. When we heard that they lost a lot of their funding because they couldn’t hold tours due to COVID, we wanted to help them.”
The Wolf Sanctuary of PA, located in Lititz, is a nonprofit sanctuary. It is a small rescue for gray wolves and wolf dogs, offering a lifelong safe haven for all of the animals that come under their care. Half the proceeds from this year’s race will go towards helping to improve enclosures and provide daily needs and veterinary care for the wolves and wolf-dogs of the sanctuary.
“We strive to give them each the best life possible and fundraisers help us to ensure that we can do so,” Michelle Mancini, Education Coordinator at Wolf Sanctuary of PA, said. “We are grateful to participate in the event and we are looking forward to it. Proceeds from this fundraiser help us to ensure that we can continue providing the best level of care for all of the wolves and wolf-dogs who reside at the sanctuary. We currently have over 50 residents and veterinary care alone for each of them can be very expensive. Fundraisers like these help fund day-to-day operations and care for the wolves, and they also help us work towards some of our larger goals, like an on-site veterinary care facility which is currently in the works.”
The virtual race can be done at any location and can be completed anytime between June 1 and 15. The registration cost is $15 per racer. All proceeds will be split between Wolf Sanctuary of PA and the Pennsylvania Dutch Council, BSA.
The entire community and all scouting families are welcome to participate in the race. For the 5K, running or walking on the road, trail, treadmill, or track is encouraged. The 15K race can be completed by riding a bike on the road, trail, or stationary bike. After registering, all participants will receive a racing bib via email. Participant patches will be mailed directly to all by the end of August. Click here to register for the race.
All participants must register and complete the race by June 15. Any pictures taken during the race can be sent to nicole.welch@scouting.org or posted on the Facebook event page.
“We don’t know if this will continue as a virtual race or if we will have an in-person race with a virtual element in the future,” Welch said. “As COVID restrictions continue to ease up, it allows for more possibilities.”
Currently, there are people planning to participate from California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and Japan.
For more information regarding the race, contact Nicole Welch at nicole.welch@scouting.org.
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