With the postponement of their annual 3v3 charity basketball tournament due to the corona virus pandemic, Layups 4 Life was in search of a new way to raise vital funds for cancer research and clinical trials. Keeping everyones safety a priority, the idea of a virtual 5k run/walk came to mind and with this idea, co-founders Dana and Dan Exter were off to organizing this fundraiser.
Working alongside raceroster.com, the L4L team was in full planning mode for this event. It was called for October 1st 2020 through November 25th, 2020, where participants from anywhere across the globe could sign up and choose to run or walk their 5K, at anytime, up until November 25th. Participants that chose to run the 5K could get their competitive spirit going by submitting their completion times. The individual with the fastest time was awarded an Amazon gift card. Another fun contest was that anyone, whether they ran or walked the 5K, could post a single or group “selfie” picture during their run/walk, post it to any social media platform and use the hashtag, #L4Lvirtual5k to be entered into a “best-selfie” contest. The winner of this contest, also received an Amazon gift card.
When it was all said and done, there were over 30 participants that participated, coming from across five states (New Jersey, New York, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts) and in total helped raise over $1,300. With the success of this event and mass participation appeal, the Layups 4 Life team will look to leverage this fundraiser as an annual event.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how you can make a difference in the fight against cancer, feel free to reach out to either Dan or Dana at [email protected]. To follow L4L across social media, you can do so at @layups4life.