New West Chicago 5K raising funds for student athletes in need
Imagine your child really wants to join a sports team at school, but the $100 fee to sign up is too costly to fit into your budget.
Maybe you find a way to swing the $100 for them to participate in one sport, but when they express interest in another - which means another $100 - you have to disappoint them and say no, we can't afford it.
That's the case for some students at West Chicago Community High School. Girls cross country Coach Bob Maxson has seen it firsthand, along with coaches from just about every other sport at the school.
"I have been frustrated by kids who I think really wanted to be on sports teams and their families felt like they couldn't support it," he said. "I saw a need and I said, let's try to raise money."
Toward that end, the girls cross country and track teams are sponsoring a new WeGo Above & Beyond 5K run/walk fundraiser at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 23, to help their fellow classmates who may not be able to participate in sports due to their family's financial situation.
Registration is $15 for West Chicago High School students and alumni and $25 for anyone else who registers before July 23. Runners and walkers can sign up at signmeup.com/115367 and pick up race packets in advance from noon to 8 p.m. on July 22 at Dick Pond Athletics, 26W515 St. Charles Road in Carol Stream.
Check-in on the day of the event begins at 6:30 a.m. at the school's football stadium. The cost to participate will increase to $30 on race day. The race will step off at Wood and George streets behind the school.
Maxson, who has served as a coach at the school for 13 years, said there have been several times he has taken money from his own pocket to pay for an athlete to participate on the cross country or track teams. The district charges a $100 participation fee per student, per sport.
He also has heard of coaches waiving summer program fees and helping with other expenses involved with being on a team. Luckily, he said, running is one of the more affordable sports. Money raised at the 5K will be available for students looking to participate in any sport at the school.
There are many examples of students who would qualify for the money, like a family Maxson came across that had two children who both wanted to participate in two sports. However, because the $400 in fees would have been too much to afford, the family made each child pick just one.
Another time, a student started complaining about a knee injury after coming to practice in shoes she had owned since seventh grade. Maxson told the student she needed to get new running shoes, but because they often cost more than $100, the student's family had been putting it off. Soon after their talk the student came to practice in new shoes she found on sale for $50.
"They're very shy about it," he said. "I have kids every year who say, 'I didn't get your text because my phone is broken,' but actually their parents couldn't pay the phone bill."
Details are still being worked out, but students in need will likely have to submit an application to receive some of the money and might have to volunteer at a concession stand for the West Chicago Boosters Club in return.
"I've run for an awful lot of charities and somehow this feels nicer to me in that it's very local and it's a need that's right there in the community that people will see the result of," Maxson said. "I'd like it to be an ongoing thing because it's an ongoing need."