MAHALIA SMITH | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The air was chilly early on Saturday, April 1, but that did not stop the women of Alpha Delta Pi from hosting their fifth annual Run for Ronald fundraiser. People from all over Clarksville gathered at the APSU intramural field with their children and dogs to participate in the 5k, 1-mile fun run and carnival.

The run raised over $16,000 for Ronald McDonald House, a charity organization that provides housing and financial support for families with sick children.

Sarah Beth Gross, senior healthcare management major and president of the APSU chapter of Alpha Delta Pi said she was excited for the fundraiser.

“We have more sponsorships than we had last year, and more runners.” Gross said.

Several changes were made to the event this year to improve on last year’s work.

The course was rerouted to make it easier on the runners, and the carnival and raffle were expanded.

Other changes included registration for the runners’ four-legged friends.

“We had dogs last year, but this is the first time we put them on the ticket.” Gross said.

Even more runners brought their dogs out this year to run.

Planning for the Run for Ronald events starts early.

“We have the next five years in advance,” Gross said. “We start planning the day after [each event]. Our event last year was April 2, so we started planning April 3.”

Gross said the response from the city and APSU was great. There were similar events happening elsewhere in Clarksville and in Nashville.

“It is really great that we were chosen,” Gross said. “We had a lot more response from APSU too. There were several other organizations that were not Greeks that actually donated and gave and helped too.”

Gross said the most important thing to do when planning events is spread the word.

“The number one thing we like to do is share about the Ronald McDonald House because a lot of people do not know. Because there is one so close to APSU a lot of people are involved in it.” Gross said.

Getting people to help is not hard, Gross said, because when people hear about a cause such as Ronald McDonald House, they are willing to help.

“It is really not that hard especially in a military town to get people involved in philanthropy work.” Gross said. “We do not have to pull and tug.”

Gross said she is thankful for the work that people have done in and outside of Alpha Delta Pi to help raise money for Ronald McDonald House.

“It is not something they have to be here doing but it is something they want to be here to do.” Gross said.