Get ready to run a 5K for Alabama’s Smile-A-Mile
Smile-A-Mile is holding a virtual 5K to raise money for its kids camps and other programs. (contributed)
Step into your tennis shoes and get ready to take off in the first virtual Smile-A-Mile (SAM) 5K.
The 11th annual 5K will be virtual to allow racers to run, walk or stroll anywhere and anytime Sept. 12-26. The event will help fund SAM’s year-round programming for children battling cancer and for the families of the kids.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. SAM Development Director Shannon Rumage said it is an ideal time to remind Alabamians of the struggles these children face every day.
“The 5K is traditionally an in-person race in downtown Birmingham,” she said. “Because of the pandemic, we had to go virtual. It has allowed us to expand our reach across Alabama, the Southeast, the nation and beyond.”
Rumage said runners have signed up for the race from as far away as Maryland, California, Russia and Australia.
Participants are making plans to take part in innovative ways, with one group declaring they will race in their office chairs, she said.
The Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) is a community partner for the 5K, and will recruit runners and promote the race.
“Alabama Power has always been very kind and willing to help us promote our story in the communities we serve,” Rumage said. “A lot of people don’t think about what it takes to provide these services. It’s not just money. It’s telling our story and how we help these children. It’s nice to know that Alabama Power is willing to come alongside us to get our story into the community.”
Throughout the event, participants will be encouraged to log their miles and tag selfies on SAM’s social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram.
“It’s going to be cool to see everybody coming together to support the SAM mission,” Rumage said. “It’s more important than ever that we have good success and a good race to allow us to continue providing our services.”
Continuing to serve in face of pandemic
Like the 5K, SAM’s summer camps looked different this year. For many kids with cancer, spending a week swimming or horseback riding or sitting around a night fire at a SAM camp is the highlight of summer. But this year, it seemed these much-anticipated camps were in jeopardy until SAM found another way for the kids to make memories and have fun.
“We had a moment of sadness and disbelief when the pandemic hit and everything came to a screeching halt,” said Rumage. “These kids look forward to the summer camps, and it gives them something to reach for when they are going through treatment. We watch them fight like warriors every single day, and we weren’t going to let a pandemic stop us from providing camp for them.”
With the kids’ fragile immune systems and the continuing rise in coronavirus cases, Rumage said the SAM staff decided the best option was to “take camp to them.” Thus, adopting the motto, “Hope is Never Cancelled,” the organization launched SAM at Home.
This summer, SAM at Home kits were shipped to 248 children and teenagers. The boxes included cooking activities, supplies for art projects, a woodworking kit, science experiments, pizza gift cards for the family, a hammock, a cornhole game and balloons for water balloon fights.
SAM hosted via Zoom a virtual talent show, scavenger hunt and camp dance where kids, dressed in costumes, could rock the night away to tunes from a hand-picked Spotify playlist. Additionally, camp counselors and other volunteers were the kids’ summer pen pals.
Through its Hospital Outreach Program, SAM delivered more than 1,700 activity packs to Children’s of Alabama this summer for its young cancer patients. As of August, SAM began delivering interactive, educational and therapeutic programming and activities through the hospital’s closed-circuit television system to kids in the hospital. SAM has provided 1,255 meals to Children’s patients and staff.
Rumage said the pandemic has been especially difficult for SAM staff members.
“We’re so highly involved with the kids and their families,” she said. “You don’t get to be physically there for them when they need a hug or they need somebody to hold their hand while they are getting chemo or undergoing treatment. For us, that has been the hardest part.”
The staff has received greater insight into what these kids face every day, Rumage said.
“While we’re all struggling with the pandemic and the isolation that we’re feeling every day, this is a very normal thing for children with cancer,” she said. “They don’t get to go out and see their friends; they don’t get to go to school; and they have to wear masks. It has given us a taste of what they are going through. Until you have to go through it yourself, you don’t have a true appreciation for it.”
Rumage said SAM as a nonprofit depends on donations to survive. Because of the pandemic, the organization had to cancel some of its fundraisers, which forced it to cut expenses and look for creative ways to “stretch every dollar.”
“We’ve had a lot of people who have been good and faithful supporters and really stood in the gap,” Rumage said. “We’re so thankful for that and for everything people continue to do.”
Rumage said although SAM has had to adapt to the new “normal,” it has continued to serve.
“As a staff, we were worried about not being able to do things the way we always did,” she said. “But we learned that with children, it’s more about the time you spend with them than the things you do. We’ve learned to keep open minds and hearts because you can serve in many different ways.”
To register for the 5K or for more information, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/AL/Birmingham/SmileAMile5k. Step up now and take advantage of the $30 Early Bird Registration fee through Tuesday, Sept. 8. Regular registration is open Sept. 9-26 and costs $35.
