Augusta, KS – More than 225 people participated in the 8th Annual Rainbows Run events Saturday, May 4 in Augusta. Both the family fun walk and the timed 5K took place on city streets.
Net proceeds of more than $17,200 will benefit children birth – 21 with special needs served through Rainbows’ two Butler County services: Targeted Case Management, and Bright Beginnings Infant/Toddler Services. “We appreciate the commitment of community support for Rainbows’ services throughout Butler County,” said Angela Kessler, Rainbows’ Vice President of Development.
Overall male 5K winner was Kyle Rowl with a time of 19:18 minutes, and the overall female 5K winner was Porsha Zweifel with a time of 22:55 minutes.
5K age group finishers were:
Under 12 Jackson Fitch Karrington Crenshaw
13 – 19 Dale Eastman Daisy Braungardt
20 – 29 Cody Weber Irene Perez
30 – 39 Jeremy Miller Casey Bolton
40 – 49 Benjamin Bunck Maile Drago
50 – 59 Willard Walker Linda Rippey
60 + Jeff Dunagan Teresa Sullivan
Awards went to:
Most contributions, Individual: Teresa Bergen
Most contributions, Team: Steven Nguyen
Largest team: May the 4th be with you – Ronda Noel
Team Spirit: Camfield family – including Hudson the dog, Burns family and Henry family
This year’s event featured children’s activities, iHeart Radio personality, FlutterBye Mobile Diner, Oklahoma Boys BBQ, Lane Enterprises, Star Wars characters including 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, and R2D2 Builders Club, BMC Cheer Squad of Davis Dance and Gymnastics, contests, and music.
More than 130 volunteers came together in support of the event. Volunteer groups from Augusta Dillons, McConnell Air Force Base, Army National Guard, Lady Raptors Soccer Team, Girl Scouts, WSU Fraternity, and Rotary Club of Andover were on hand to help make the event a success.
“It’s great to see the Butler County community and our Rainbows’ families come out and celebrate together,” said Deb Voth, Rainbows United President. “The city of Augusta and Lincoln Elementary School were wonderful hosts.”
Rainbows Run Sponsors are: Vess Oil Corporation, Parks Chevrolet, Heartland Homecare Services – A Long Term Care Pharmacy, Andover State Bank, INTRUST Bank, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital, Rotary Club of Andover and others.
Event partners are: Koch Industries, Timer Guys, B98, Cox Communications, A’Deas Printing, The Wichita Eagle.
Rainbows United, Inc. enhances the lives of children with special needs and their families by bringing together community resources and providing customized services.
Now almost 3-years-old, twins Jensen Lee and Aluxandria Jo Burns have been very busy since the last Rainbows Run! Their mother, Rachel, said, “We are doing so many new things and meeting every milestone for their age. With the nice weather approaching, we are spending loads of time outside. Jensen and Aluxandria enjoy going to dance class and story time at the Augusta Library.”
Born almost 2 months early at 3 and 4 pounds, they had a long stay in the NICU. Because of their premature birth, they were expectedly a little behind when it came to developmental milestones. Both Jensen and Aluxandria began receiving services from Rainbows’ Butler County Infant/Toddler Services when they were 2-months-old. Melissa Baumgartel, Special Education teacher, works with the twins on many different things, including talking, learning sign language, and developing motor skills. “They have gone from being behind on skills to catching up, and even surpassing, in some areas,” said Rachel.
“The twins have grown in speech by not just using words, but they are now forming sentences and singing,” said Rachel. “We are working on potty training and it is going well! Jensen and Aluxandria are big helps around the house. They like to help Mom cook and Dad fix things with tools.”
“Rainbows has been a huge blessing in our life,” said Rachel. “They have helped provide tools for the kids and for us as parents to use to make sure the twins are growing and developing in the best way possible. Rainbows’ prime concern is that Jensen and Aluxandria are happy and healthy. They truly want to see your children succeed just as much as you do.”
