Council for Life Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With A 5K For Adoption Awareness

Need a Saturday morning activity option? Run a 5K to raise awareness for adoption and foster care.

Council for Life (CFL) is gearing up to host its 12th Annual 5K Run for Life on April 17. The event will be at the Continental Bridge in Trinity Groves. Interested participants can register at councilforlife.org/run-for-life.

Funds raised from the run contribute to Christian Homes & Family ServicesChristianWorks for Children/AdoptionWorksEmbrace Waiting Children and Lifeline Children’s Services, CFL said.

The family-friendly event will benefit these four aforementioned local organizations, which aim to facilitate minors find a home through foster care, reunification with relatives or adoption. Launched in 2001, CFL is a religious nonprofit organization in Dallas that has raised $8.26 million for pro-life agencies. 

This year’s run marks CFL’s 20-year-anniversary. Supporters of Council for Life and adoptive parents, the Cathy and Tony Sisk family will serve as honorary chairs, according to CFL.

Run For Life participants posing for a photo. Credit: Maggie Caine, Council For Life PR & Media Consultant

Anyone is welcome to participate in the local event, said the 2021 CFL president Lee Anne Morris. 

“We encourage everyone to walk, run, push your child in a stroller, and even bring your dog while enjoying the beautiful Dallas skyline and helping the cause of adoption and foster care,” said Morris.

The race day begins at 8 a.m. with onsite registration and/or packet pick-up. At 9 a.m., it is off to the races as the whistle sounds and the 5K run (or walk) starts. Throughout the schedule, the event welcomes families to enjoy food, music and fitness, said 2021 co-chairs Michelle Dodds and Emily Vanderstrasten. For runners who signed up before April 10, packet pick-up is on April 15 and 16 at Luke’s Locker, on Mockingbird Lane. 

“We are proud to host a day celebrating strong families built by adoption and foster care,” said Dodds and Vanderstrasten.

 CFL’s pre-registration fee of $35 per person includes a t-shirt, a timing chip and post-event refreshments. The cost rises to $40 after April 10. Any student, child, or adoptive or foster care family member or birth parent will receive a discounted registration fee. Adopted and fostered children may participate free of charge, said CFL. The run even has virtual options for runners who prefer a remote experience. 

Sponsorship donations can be made online at councilforlife.org/run-for-life. All sponsors will be recognized at CFL’s Run Kickoff Party on the evening of Thursday, April 15, at Saint Rocco’s in Trinity Groves with a cocktail reception, a program featuring the four Run Beneficiaries and live music from the MalFUNKtions. 


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