In every state, staggering numbers of children await adoption. Globally, the numbers skyrocket, with an estimated 160 million children without providing parents. In fact, every 18 seconds, somewhere in the world a child becomes an orphan. There are 450,000 kids in foster care in the United States.
So when Gerry Geraghty and his wife, Lauren, began putting on the River Run for Orphans seven years ago, they set out to make a difference.
“It’s not easy, but I know this whole event could be for one person,” Gerry Geraghty said. “It’s somebody’s life.”
Since its debut event, the 1-mile and 5-kilometer runs have been held in Idaho; Washington, D.C.; Fort Collins; Jackson, Wyoming; Pagosa Springs; Farmington; and Kansas City. Together, they have generated nearly half a million dollars; in Durango alone, more than $200,000.
“Our numbers have been going up and down over the years,” Gerry Geraghty said, “but the most important thing is that people here are passionate, and they are learning.”
Several humanitarian organizations had booths near the Clock Tower on the Fort Lewis College campus where the event took place, educating participants and raising awareness of how they each can do their part to help others, near and far.
On the thick grass on campus, a massive outline of the United States held within an eerie, powerful exhibit – near life-size paper cutouts in the fashion of children, each representing the number of orphans awaiting adoption in each state – for example, Washington state, 2,865; California, 13,091; Colorado, 916; New Mexico, 836.
Meanwhile, families ran, walked and strolled through the course on a cloudless, late-summer day – mothers and fathers, young boys and girls – their entry fees going toward a number of causes that would buy food for children on another continent or supply goods for an entire village.
A great surprise to many, orphaned children are just as real in the U.S. as anywhere.
Event volunteer Claudia White took one look over the paper figures on the soft lawn and welled in tears.
“It makes it real,” she said. “(People) are able to fit faces with the cause, and they’re able to see what is actually happening. It’s tragic, so they’re coming together to make it happen for kids to get their basic needs met.”
Preparing for college in Seattle, Garrett Crowell said he likes to run, but, more so, wanted to do his part and support children in need, so he paid his entry fee and ran.
“I’m no saint,” he said, “but I’ve seen poverty that people live in. I’ve seen devastation in the world. Running a 5K, in hindsight, isn’t that big of a deal, but it’s something. Every little bit helps.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com
