HomeRun for Habitat 5K brings community together to build hope in DeSoto County
Photo: Runners leave the starting line for Sunday’s HomeRun for Habitat 5K race Sunday in Southaven. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
By Bob Bakken | DeSoto County News
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – Hundreds of runners, families, and supporters gathered Sunday afternoon at Silo Square for the annual HomeRun for Habitat 5K and Fall Fest — a major community event benefiting the Hernando DeSoto chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
The event, which combines fitness, family fun, and philanthropy, serves as the local chapter’s biggest and most important fundraiser of the year.
Race and family fun for a cause
The day’s schedule featured the 5K run/walk through Silo Square and Snowden Grove Park, followed by a Kids’ Dash at 5 p.m. for children ages 4–11.
“The kids do a short run around the bell tower and back,” Hernando DeSoto chapter president Lee Ashcraft explained. “We have three different age groups so the little ones aren’t competing with the older ones. It’s fun for everybody.”
In addition to the races, the event included music, games, food vendors, and inflatables as part of the Fall Fest — all designed to bring families together while raising funds to build homes for local families in need.
Fundraising goal and impact
Ashcraft said this event represents the affiliate’s primary fundraiser, with proceeds going directly into the organization’s building fund.
“All the money goes into our building fund,” he said. “Our sponsors carry the load. We have high-level title sponsors all the way down to smaller ones. With inflation and all that goes on, our last house cost about $150,000 to build.”
Despite the costs, the organization remains committed to its mission — providing affordable, safe housing for families who qualify through Habitat’s rigorous selection process.
Building homes and changing lives
“This year’s partner family is a mom, her daughter, and her mother,” Ashcraft said. “We’re building a handicapped-accessible home for them.”
Families apply for Habitat homes through a structured process that includes an application, interviews, and home visits conducted by the Family Selection Committee.
“It all starts with an application,” Ashcraft explained. “We review them for completeness, meet the families, and visit their current living conditions before making a final selection.”
The Hernando DeSoto affiliate typically builds one home a year, occasionally completing two. Since its founding, the organization has built 31 homes for families in DeSoto County.
A mission of faith and service
Ashcraft, who began volunteering with Habitat in 2000 and joined the board a year later, said his decades of service stem from a deep sense of calling.
“I’m a volunteer — always have been,” he said. “We don’t have any paid staff, so it’s all a God thing. I feel a calling to be involved in this, and year after year, it’s just been a blessing.”
Continuing the mission
Through events like HomeRun for Habitat, the Hernando DeSoto chapter continues to unite churches, schools, businesses, and families around a common goal: building hope, one home at a time.
For more information or to donate, visit desotohabitat.org.
West leads the runners to the finish line
James West, age 17 of Olive Branch, was the fastest runner across the finish line Sunday in a time of 16:35. Another 17-year-old runner from Olive Branch, Ethan Lenox, finished second overall in a time of 18:31. Aiden Hoshell of Hernando, was third in a time of 19:29 for the five kilometers.
The top female runner was Avery Sawyer, age 16 old of Southaven, who ran the route in 22:18. Shelly Fox of Nesbit was second in a time of 22:39. Madi Ross of Hernando finished third in a clocking of 24:43.
About 300 runners in all took part in Sunday’s race. HomeRun for Habitat 5K race results
