What is Relay Missouri?

The Cause-
There are millions and millions of homeless people in the U.S, but I bet you didn’t know that about 40% of those homeless people are kids. According to the ‘National Coalition for the Homeless’ there are over 1.35 million homeless kids on the streets right now. 650,000 kids under the age of 15 have been living on the streets for over 3 years. 42% of homeless children are under the age of six. The worst part of all is that 13 of these kids die every day…Kids on the street are stuck without outside help. They get on the street because they were abused or raped by their parents, kicked out, or are orphans. The foster care system also ends when a kid turns 18, so hundreds of kids each month have no choice but to turn to the streets. These kids on the streets have no home, no money, and no loving family.

***For more information about the cause please check out the charities website: http://www.standupforkids.org/ ***

The Run-
Our goal is to run across the state of Missouri in just 3 days. In order to make this happen we will run an average of 100 miles a day, for a total of just under 300 miles. We have set up a relay system because no one is capable of running 100 miles a day for 3 days. Each athlete will run and carry the ‘Make a Difference for Kids’ baton for some portion of the day. He/she will run their miles and then hand the baton off to someone else. The next runner runs their miles and then hands the baton off to someone else, and so on. A bus will carry the group of volunteer runners until it is their turn to run. The route will avoid Interstates; however we will take the most direct route, which will put us on main roads at times. The majority of the actual route is planned; however there will be minor changes to reflect First Aid and Public Relations considerations. The route is not set in stone and will continue to change up until the final weeks before the run. The bus will carry the majority of the team; however it won’t be trailing the person running. The bus will actually drive ahead of the runner and park and wait for them to catch up. There will be a trail car to carry 4-6 runners. When the runner finishes his miles, he will get in the trail car and the next runner will get out, in this pattern until the last runner catches up with the bus. Then the next group of 4-6 runners will get in the trail car. Relay Missouri will provide two nights’ accommodations and water. Each volunteer runner will be required to bring their own food to eat or money to spend at the food locations where the bus stops. In order for an athlete to run for charity with Relay Missouri, like all charity runs they must raise money, in this case only $500. The amount allows the organization to cover its small operating costs, while still supporting “Stand Up For Kids”. After costs are covered, 100% of the money raised will go to helping kids, not paying any employee of Stand Up for Kids or Relay Missouri. Also, 100% of this money will stay in Missouri, to help Missouri’s kids. **While $500 may sound like a lot, we promise that any person who is willing to put in a little effort, we currently have strategies that make it easy to raise the money. **

So come have the best road trip ever! You’ll be hanging out with your friends, while training for the upcoming season, but most importantly, you’ll be helping homeless kids. Get all your friends involved in this. This is for anyone under the age of 21, boys and girls, who can jog at least one mile under nine minutes. Get as many friends out as you can!
(Note: during the trip you can run as many miles a day as you want, whether that’s one or ten.)

If this sounds like something you are interested in, or for more information or other ways to help out, please contact us. If you wish to stay posted, you can join the Facebook group “Relay Missouri: Running to Give Kids a Place to Call Home”. Thank you for showing interest and we hope to hear from you all soon. We can make a difference.
-Relay Missouri Team

Please feel free to call or email us with any questions.