Zombie Chase for Charity benefits local citzens, animals
The Zombie Chase for Charity run was held Saturday at the USU cross country course on 1400 North.
“This is the second year that I’ve been in charge of organizing this event, and it is the second year it has been here,” said Kyle Niedrich, organizer and president of the Pre-Physical Therapy Club.
The annual event got started as a service project for the Optometry Club, an organization Niedrich founded last year.
“We just wanted to help out the community,” he said of the event’s purpose. “The Pre-Physical Therapy Club is helping with the chase, but really this year I am doing it as a project for MGT 3110 (Managing Organizations and People.) I needed another team to help me this year, and so I applied to be a CEO of a group for the class service project, and my group agreed to organize the Second Annual Zombie Chase for Charity.”
Because of the efforts of students associated with the MGT 3110 class, a dog-walk costume contest was added and the best costume was awarded a prize, Niederich said.
“Due to popular demand, we added a dog 5k run as well, so people have the option of walking or running their dog, dressed up or not,” Niedrich said. “We really just want as many people as we can get and if allowing them to run with their dog is what it takes, we’ll do it.”
Proceeds from the run go toward the efforts of the Cache Valley Volunteer Center. The center finds less-fortunate families in need of a warm meal on Thanksgiving, Niedrich said.
“The event helps the Cache Valley Volunteer Center accomplish its mission of providing support and resources to our partner organizations in providing services to their clients and making a positive difference in the community,” said Sharilee Griffiths, director of the Cache Valley Volunteer Center. “I believe that with the donation from the Zombie Charity Run, collaborating with other projects we have going, we should be able to provide for 75-100 families.”
Four Paws, a nonprofit animal care organization, also received some of proceeds from the charity event, Niedrich said. Those donations will help provide food and shelter for rescued animals.
“Our portion of the proceeds will most likely go towards pet food,” said Shannon Syrstad, a volunteer for Four Paws Rescue. “It costs the shelter about $1,500-2,000 per month to feed the cats and dogs. Pet food makes up about 45 percent of our overall expenses, with veterinary bills being about 45 percent as well. The director of Four Paws Rescue, Lisa Shaw, makes three weekly trips to PetSmart to buy pet food. That can add up.”
“We are just a few volunteers,” Syrstad said. “We can only handle a few fundraisers ourselves, so it’s so wonderful when someone wants to put on a benefit on our behalf. It was beautiful weather and a great event.”
Niedrich said the event was a success and raised nearly $1,500. He said the event next year will be likely be organized to help Four Paws, as well as Options for Independence, a nonprofit group that works to increase independence and quality of living for people with a wide range of disabilities, and USU’s Secondary Teacher Education Program, or STEP.
“We started planning this event back in the end of May when all the ideas were thrown around,” said Ben Vera, one of the event’s organizers. “There was a lot of work that happened throughout the summer that was mainly getting sponsors for the race and working on a location for the event.”
“I honestly expect it to grow every year and hopefully become a tradition for Cache Val
ley,” Vera said.