With an eye toward the sky, hundreds turned out to participate in Hop, SCIP, Jump and Run, an annual fundraiser benefiting School Community Intervention and Prevention (SCIP), a program of Lincoln Medical Education Partnership. SCIP works with schools throughout Nebraska by providing trainings and resources to address behavioral health issues that impact children, adolescents and their families.
This year’s event took place June 2 at Antelope Park, featuring a 1-mile Fun Run. With an eye on impending weather, the run started at 6:45 p.m. The heavens opened about two minutes into the run but didn’t appear to dampen runners’ spirits.
Prizes were awarded to the top six finishers. Lila Zastrow won the Fun Run with a time of 6:18. Runner-up was Andrew Almazan, and in third place was Abel Evjen. Fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers were Paul Zach, Jack Zupan and Gage Zastrow, respectively. Lincoln Running Company and Scheels provided prizes for the top finishers.
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Before and after the run, participants visited booths of sponsors and local nonprofit organizations to be entered into a drawing for prizes donated by local businesses. Over 50 prizes were given away thanks to the generosity of local businesses.
Participating organizations and businesses included Asian Community & Cultural Center, Capital Humane Society, Cedars, Community Action Head Start, Complete Children’s Health, El Centro de las Americas, Family Service Lincoln, Junior Achievement, Kate’s Face Painting, Lincoln Children’s Museum, Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department-WIC, Lincoln Pediatric Dentistry, Mourning Hope, Nebraska Mental Health Centers, Nebraska Walleye Association Kids Fishing Clinics, Raising Cane’s, Set Me Free Project, Streets Alive-Partnership for a Health Lincoln, Tobacco Free Lancaster County, Velocity Clinical Research and Voices of Hope.
New this year was a photo booth sponsored by Nebraska Mental Health Centers. Kids had fun dressing up and posing with their friends and family members. Also, University of Nebraska Women’s Basketball player Allison Weidner signed autographs and posed for photos.
The Cookie Company and Colby Ridge donated cookies and popcorn for the event, and Norland Pure and Pepsi provided bottled water. Baconazing Food Truck offered an array of delectable pork-themed options.
“Hop, SCIP, Jump and Run provides a great opportunity to highlight many of the organizations that support children and families in our community,” said Kelly Madcharo, director of SCIP. “We are thankful for our sponsors who make it possible for us to put on a free, family-friendly event, allowing us to raise awareness of the work SCIP does within our schools by shining a light on mental health and substance use concerns, and wrapping students with services, resources and supports.”
The event’s title sponsor was Family Health & Wellness Center P.C. Photo booth sponsor was Nebraska Mental Health Centers. Finish line sponsors were B107.3, Complete Children’s Health, Nelnet, and Union Bank and Trust. Hydration station sponsors were Bryan Health, Cornhusker Bank, Bizco Technologies, Radcliffe, Gilbertson & Brady and Velocity Clinical Research. The half-mile marker sponsor was Unico.
SCIP is a program designed to bring together families, schools and the community to support students’ behavioral and emotional health. SCIP’s mission is to provide an effective prevention and early intervention process for youth with behavioral health concerns so they may achieve healthy, productive lives. For more information on SCIP, visit www.scipnebraska.com or call 402-327-6843.