Third annual Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk will be held on Sept. 30 in Edmonton and in Peace River

by Terry Lusty, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Where will you be on September 30th? What will you be doing that day?

Well, Sept. 30 is not far away, is it! So, why don’t you dig out that orange t-shirt you wore a year ago. You know, the one that reads, “Every child matters.”

Yes, just slip it on that day and join up with the Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk in Edmonton’s beautiful river valley at the Kinsmen Park on the east side of the 109th Street High Level Bridge, Or just on the west side of the 105th street bridge, on the south side of the North Sask. River.

Run/Walk coordinator, Anita Cardinal, extends an invitation to the community-at-large, to register by logging on to: indigenousrunner.com.

Your participation in this event will assist the organizers in remembering and honouring the tens of thousands of former residential school children who were torn away from their homes, families and communities and thrust into unfamiliar surroundings among many strangers and strange surroundings known as residential schools.

“On September 30th National Truth and Reconcilation Day, join us to honour and remember our little ancestors who never made it home,” says Cardinal. “We also hold space for those who did. This is why we will raise funds for local grassroots movements, to support Indigenous Athletes, and help provide safe spaces for Indigenous Runners.”

The event will be made up of varying distances of 2.15, 5 and 10 km and some participants even take along people-friendly family pets such as dogs, along for company – all on leashes, of course.

There is a registration fee but rest assured, the funds raised go towards supporting Indigenous students and athletes. The event also offers post-race snacks, onsite food trucks/vendors, a runner’s raffle, and roots for trees. As well, those who register will be gifted a custom orange shirt and race bib, a custom wood-crafted medal, and a huge “thank you!”

In the past two years, the run/walk brought together many hundreds who were able to share and enjoy good company, make new friends, meet old friends and, quite simply, enjoy a late summer day – all this while contributing to a very worthy cause.

On a final note, Cardinal requests people to join the Sept. 30th RunConciliAction to “honour the truth and to yell loudly, EVERY CHILD MATTERS!”

The third annual Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk will be held from 12 noon to 6 pm on September 30 in Edmonton at River Valley Walterdale and in Peace River at River Front Park.