Running for those pearly whites

Early in the morning of Saturday, March 19, 50 runners lined up on the track at the school to run laps at the Miles for Smiles fundraiser and raise funds for Smile Train, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to doctors to provide free cleft repair surgery for children in developing countries.

Participating students had a choice of paying $10 to attend the event or pledging a certain amount per lap they run during the event. Students who participated received an hour of community service credit for every $50 they raise in donations.

“It's kind of like a jogathon, [except] that for every $250 raised, surgeries can be provided for the children in Third-World countries,” junior club co-president Maya Prasad said.

Last year, the club raised $10,000 in total, $700 of which came from the event itself and helped 40 children receive free cleft-repair surgeries, the rest of which came from later fundraising. This year, the club has hopes to raise $15,000 to pay for 60 surgeries and is well on its way to reaching that goal, having raised $820 from the March 19 event and $8,000 in total.

According to Prasad, the club raises money by emailing acquaintances and asking whether they would like to donate, informing them about the cause in the process. Next year, the club will focus on publicizing itself to Saratoga and nearby communities in order to gain more participants and donations.

The event itself was intended to be five miles and most people had good time, even if they weren’t runners.

“[I] felt really good, physically from running and emotionally from giving a little back to people,” senior Katie McLaughlin said. “I wouldn't say I gave the most money or was the most involved with the event, but it was fun to be there and see how many awesome people would show up early on a Saturday to give back to people they don't even know.”