HomeRun for Habitat holds annual 5K run
Photo: Runners leave the start of Sunday’s HomeRun for Habitat 5K race in Southaven. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Oct. 20, 2024 – For the 16th year, runners of all ages and skill levels took part in the HomeRun for Habitat 5K race in Southaven.
The event, which included a Kids Dash and a Fall Fest, savored a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon while raising funds for the Hernando DeSoto Habitat for Humanity.
About 430 runners took part in the race, along with about 100 volunteers helping make the afternoon another successful event.
In the race results, Justin Durham, age 35 of Arlington, Texas, was the first across the finish line in a time of 17:24.4. The top female runner was Kaydi Blanchard, a 17-year-old member of the Lewisburg High School cross cod Linda Fuller untry team, who ran the course in a time of 20:04.7.
Runners were of all ages in Sunday’s race, ranging from five-year-old Alannah Cunningham to 89-year old Mary Perry, both of Southaven.
Hernando DeSoto Habitat for Humanity works to help provide housing for qualified DeSoto County residents who apply. They must complete an application process. They must not currently have adequate housing, the finances to obtain housing through conventional means and the inability to be approved for a conventional loan, as well as other requirements.
Part of the requirement which makes Habitat for Humanity unique involves a commitment to provide what is called “sweat equity,” which is helping in the construction of their new home and the home of a future Habitat resident. Successful applicants are then placed on a waiting list for approval and when that happens, their home is built on a site Habitat is able to provide.
Volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials help build a Habitat home.
A Fall Build for Habitat in DeSoto County is currently placed on hold as issues have developed in acquiring property for the home site.
Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by MIllard and Linda Fuller in Georgia but gained more national notoriety with the involvement of former President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter with the Carter Work Project.
Today, Habitat for Humanity works in all 50 states and in 70 countries, helping more than 59 million people achieve safe, decent and affordable shelter.
