Red, orange, yellow, run! Rainbow Run, Kids Dash raise money for 4-H program

August 29, 2014

Fast Facts:

Rainbow Run and Kids Dash are to raise money for 4-H program
There is 50 percent growth in Montgomery County 4-H program over the past four years
Rainbow Run is $25 through Aug.14, $30 Aug. 15-Sept. 5, $35 on race day. Kids Dash costs $10 per entry. T-shirts are included.
To register, visit www.racesonline.com or contact the Montgomery County extension office at (870) 867-2311.

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MOUNT IDA, Ark. – 4-H may be known for its green, but on Saturday, Sept. 6, it’s going multi-color to raise money for its rapidly growing through its Rainbow Run 5K and Kids Dash.

The 5K run starts at 9 a.m. on at Courthouse Square in Mount Ida and winds through the town. Runners will be showered with a different colored powder at stations spaced at each kilometer along the run, said Amy Monk, Montgomery County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Besides the Rainbow Run, there is a Kids Dash, which is open for youth up to age 10. In this event, the participants will run around one city block, a shorter version of the Rainbow Run. The Kids Dash starts at 8:30 a.m. Registration for Rainbow Run is $25 through Aug. 14, $30 from Aug.15 through Sept. 5, and $35 on race day. Kids Dash costs $10 per kid. T-shirts are included in the fee.

Registration for both races is at 8 a.m. To register, visit www.racesonline.com or contact the Montgomery County extension office at (870) 867-2311.

The runs will help raise money for the county’s fast-growing program.

“We have experienced 50 percent growth,” and the larger program needs funding for materials and activities, Monk said.

The county’s 4-H program engages in local service projects such as planting gardens for low-income families and putting up holiday decorations at the senior center. The program also conducts workshops and camps for kids ages 5 through 19 and for six Fridays in the summer, the county’s 4-H teach young people life skills such as cooking and inspires science, engineering and technology skills through robotics and other projects.

“This summer’s program has included salsa making, robotics, and water safety, just to name a few,” she said.

4-H is a youth development program conducted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service. The 4-H mission is to provide opportunities for youth to acquire knowledge, develop life skills, form attitudes, and practice behavior that will enable them to become self directing, productive, and contributing members of society.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

By Mary Hightower

For the Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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