Dinah Smith, known around Winston County for her work promoting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and Louisville Police Department Community Liaison Patricia Whitcomb, who hosted the first annual Walk for a Cause event in 2023, are partnering together this year to host a 5k run/walk. The event will be held on Saturday, October 26, at the Louisville Dome. This year’s theme is “Be a Super Hero,” and participants are encouraged to wear costumes, especially those with capes. No costume? A superhero cape will do! Registration will open for about 45 minutes before the 5k begins with the Candy Dash at 9 AM. Fees for the 5k is $30 and the Candy Dash is $15. Smith has hosted multiple 5k walk/run events to raise money for St. Jude for many years. St. Jude’s treats children with a variety of illnesses at no cost to their families. Whitcomb’s Walk for a Cause is intended to draw awareness to multiple causes – cancer, childhood illnesses, autism, mental health, abuse survivors. The pair hopes that coming together will not only draw attention to multiple causes, but also raise money for St. Jude. Not only will there be a fun walk/run and a Candy Dash for the participating kids, but the pair is planning for other activities. Lesley’s Lemonade will be set up on site; Lesley’s Lemonade raises money to provide scholarships to all five schools in Winston County. Lesley’s mother, Susan Dempsey, spearheads this event, and each year, she and her family pour over applications from seniors planning to enter the healthcare profession to select as recipients of the scholarships. Originally, the Dempsey family was only able to provide one scholarship in the county, but, growing participation has allowed for more students to be awarded – all in the memory of Lesley Boatner. Boatner died in 2023 as a result of cancer. Smith and Whitcomb also want the public to be aware there will be items on sale with proceeds to benefit Hadley Taylor, the daughter of Skylar and Troy Taylor. For more information on the St. Jude 5k and Walk for a Cause event, interested individuals may contact Dinah Smith at 662-803-9804 for details.
