South Seas to host ‘Run for Reading’ Weekend
From Oct. 23-25, South Seas Island Resort will be hosting a Run for Reading
Weekend to benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Lee County, a nonprofit agency that has been providing free adult literacy programs with trained volunteers for 20 years.
“We are so pleased to be hosting this charity event to benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Lee County,” said South Seas managing director Rick Hayduk.
“This is the first of many ways that South Seas Island Resort is working with local partners to continue to support the community we serve,” he said.
The Run for Reading Weekend will begin with pre-race activities on Friday
evening. The 5k run/walk will begin at 7:30 a.m., Saturday morning in
Chadwick’s square, followed by an awards ceremony.
“We’re calling it the ‘First Annual Run for Reading Weekend’ because we’ve
developed such a great partnership with LVLC and we thought that doing a
run/walk would be ideal for us because we have Plantation Road – which is
2.5 miles up and back,” said South Seas Island Resort special events and
community relations manager Carolyn Hudson.
“We have a resort that just begs for an event like this. We have this
Gorgeous nature-scape that connects North Pointe to the South Village of South Seas. As you’re running it, you are literally surrounded by wildlife.
“From my perspective, since coming on board, this is the first event that
I’ve really had a chance to sink my teeth into. I was so excited, because
when I lived in Miami, I got to work as an English as a Second Language
tutor for many years. So I was just thrilled, once again, to connect to a passion of mine,” she continued.
According to Hudson, the Literacy Volunteers of Lee County approached South Seas Island Resort with hopes of organizing event.
“One of their board members, Dr. Amy Wecker, is an epidemiologist with
Internal Medicine Associates. She’s a loyal runner and very well connected
with the running community, so it was her idea. Graciously, she got Internal
Medicine Associates to be the presenting Sponsor,” Hudson said.
Internal Medicine Associates of Lee County is a multi-specialty medical
practice that offers a variety of services at numerous locations. You can
find more information about IMA at www.imadoctors.com.
“It’s actually an entire weekend of family fitness and because IMA is the
presenting sponsor, there will be a wellness fair happening those mornings,
including cholesterol checks, blood pressure screenings, literature about
nutrition and doctors from IMA will be there,” Hudson said, noting that the
wellness fair will be set up in Chadwick’s Square, which is also the location
of the start and finish line.
“The reason that all of this fits in with our four tenets – which are family, nature, comfort and resort village – is that part of our commitment is to family fitness. This event is open to all ages and skill levels,” Hudson said.
The 5K will take place on Saturday along Plantation Road but in addition, South Seas Island Resort will also be utilizing their gulf access for a bonus event.
“We thought, ‘Why don’t we do something unique? Why don’t we do something extra fun?'” Hudson said.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, athletes 16 years of age and over will be able to participate in an aquathon, including a 2 mile run, a 1K swim in the gulf and a 1.5 mile run back to the finish line.
But if supporting an amazing local organization isn’t enough to make you dust off your sneakers, South Seas Island Resort is offering a special deal when you sign up for a two-night minimum stay during the Run for Reading weekend.
“We’re offering a special room rate for the weekend for all participants, starting at $125 a night,” Hudson said, noting that several reservations have already come in for the event.
Hudson says the weekend event is meant to be as much a tribute to fitness and supporting a great cause as it is a celebration, featuring live entertainment, children’s arts and crafts and a few other special events along the way.
Hudson added that they’re still looking for additional sponsors. People that are interested in sponsoring can contact Tess Murphy at Literacy Volunteers, 239-242-4374.
“We actually have two other events that are coming up in the Fall. From Nov.
7 – 9, is our Buddy Walk to benefit Downs Syndrome and then we have what we’re calling ’12 Days of Christmas’ in early December. It will be 12 days
of lunches and brunches held for our community seniors, the proceeds of which will benefit a local charity,” Hudson said.
“This is the first time in a long time that South Seas Island Resort has opened its gates to the public. All three of these events are open to the public. That’s important to us and it’s something we?re all very excited about,” she continued.
Hudson says these three events are only the beginning of many community-focused events at South Seas Island Resort.
“We’re in the midst of building relationships with strategic partners and
we’ll be holding events throughout 2010.”
Potential participants can pick up registration packets at The Run Shoppe in
Cape Coral, 3512 Del Prado Blvd., 239-540-9529. The cost for participants who preregister is $25 for an adult for one race, $40 for adults for both races, $20 for youths for one race and $35 for youths for both races. Race day registration is $30 for all ages, per race.
For information about reserving a room during the Run for Reading weekend, call 1-800-CAPTIVA. More information is also available at www.SouthSeas.com/runforreading.
To learn more about LVLC, go to www.LeeAdultLiteracy.com.