The 17th annual Dog Days Run is a little less than a month away, and it’s the largest fundraiser by far for the Rotary Club of East Cobb.
Last year the organization raised nearly $100,000 for a number of local non-profits and drew the interest of more than 800 participants along a course around the McCleskey Family-East Cobb YMCA (1055 East Piedmont Road, between Roswell Road and Sewell Mill Road).
Dog Days Run coordinator Butch Carter, a longtime Rotary member, said the goals this year are to surpass those figures.
“It’s a huge run, but we’d like to get to a thousand,” he said of the number of entries for the 5K event.
But he notes that while “every runner is important,” entry fees comprise only a portion of the money the event raises.
Carter said there’s a real need for more local businesses and organizations to sign up as sponsors, and Rotary members are busy knocking on doors and ringing the phone lines.
“That’s where we need to focus,” said Carter, whose auto repair shop, Honest-1, is among this year’s sponsors. “The vast majority of what we raise comes from some great local companies.”
Other sponsors include the Indian Hills Country Club, the YMCA, Pinnacle Orthopaedics, and the Malon D. Mimms Company.
Sponsorships range from $250 to $10,000, and for $1,000 or more a sponsor will get a table at the race site on the YMCA grounds.
“There’s some great visibility for a company that’s available there,” Carter said; click here for sponsorship details.
Sponsorship levels also include a company’s name on the race shirt and event signage, as well as social media and website mentions and verbal recognition during the event.
A presenting sponsor—at $10,000—not only is the subject of a featured podcast highlighting its organization, but also receives eight complimentary tickets and gets to offer remarks during the Rotary Club’s Give Back Ceremony.
That’s a dinner held in the fall to announce the grant recipients from the Dog Days Run proceeds.
Recent organizations include Aloha to Aging, the Cobb Library Foundation, Family Promise, the MDE School, the Cobb Public Safety Celebration, The Exenstion, YMCA and the AVID program at Wheeler High School.
Carter said organizations must apply every year, and they “have to explain what they’re going to do” with the grant money.
All sponsorships also have at least one free race entry.
For other participants, registration is $30 through July 31, and $35 afterwards and for “phantom” runners, those participating elsewhere.
The Dog Days Run begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, and race-day registration begins at 6:30 a.m.
There also are cash prizes for category winners, including overall male and female, master male and female, grandmaster male and female and senior male and female.
To register, and for more information, click here. For volunteer information, click here.
Related:
- Cobb Police continue Book Bag Palooza school supply drive
- Harmonies for Homes concert raises $100K+ for Habitat
- Delta Community CU provides $17.5K in grants to non-profits
- Rocky Mount, Tritt ES students win Kiwanis ‘Silver Pen’ Awards
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