Last modified: Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Inaugural IU Circle of Life Mini Marathon nets $60,000 for cancer scholarships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 15, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU Circle of Life, a not-for-profit philanthropy organized by Indiana University students, announced today (Nov. 15) that its first-ever collegiate mini marathon netted $60,000 to fund one of the nation's largest scholarships for cancer survivors.
The Sept. 9 mini marathon and other running events through Bloomington and the IU campus welcomed more than 3,200 runners from around the nation and was seen as a successful first step in the establishment of the race as an IU tradition.
"We're thrilled with the results of our first mini marathon and look forward to leveraging that success into even greater results next year," said Kevin MacCauley, Circle of Life's chief executive officer. "Both our sponsors and the community really stepped up, and I think you can see from the response that people are willing to be enormously supportive of Circle of Life's scholarship initiative."
MacCauley expressed appreciation to all the sponsors who helped support Circle of Life and make its first collegiate mini marathon a success.
Samantha Roper, Circle of Life's chief financial officer, added, "With a startup organization and inaugural event, especially a mini marathon, we are pleased with both our financial outcome in year one and the financial outlook for year two. As new leaders begin to evolve within our organization, they will be able to utilize the inaugural framework as a stepping stone to developing amazing financial potential for the future of Indiana University Circle of Life."
IU Circle of Life today also announced that the second IU Mini Marathon will be held on Sept. 15, 2007. In addition to the 13.1-mile race, organizers also will again have a 5K run. They will not have a 1-mile family fun run next year.
The mission of the Circle of Life IU Mini Marathon was to create one of the nation's largest scholarships for cancer survivors, known as the Bill Z. Littlefield Scholarship for Survivors. The scholarship, named for a Kelley School of Business faculty member who died in 2005 from cancer, will be awarded to a cancer survivor to attend one of IU's eight campuses once enough money is raised to endow it.
The profit and proceeds from the event will be transferred to the IU Foundation Bill Z. Littlefield Endowment Account in the amount of $50,000, leaving funds for general expenses for the second year.
To raise more awareness about the IU Mini Marathon, Circle of Life has teamed up with Americaneagle.com, a Chicago-based industry leader in Web site design, to further develop www.iumini.com . Since 1995, Americaneagle.com has developed more than 3,000 Web sites for companies worldwide, including small companies and start-ups, Fortune 500 firms and pro sports teams. The One America Mini Marathon in Indianapolis is one of its clients.
IU Circle of Life also was one of 800 organizations selected to participate in the Livestrong Summit, hosted on Oct. 27-29 by the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Austin, Texas. The three-day summit featured seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) The summit's purpose was to organize, inspire and direct the efforts of cancer survivors from across the country to change the face of cancer survivorship.
The scholarship account has been established at the IU Foundation. Planners hope that once the scholarship is endowed, annual proceeds of the event will be able to support other charitable causes. Contributions can be sent to the IU Foundation at P.O. Box 500, Bloomington, IN 47402; made by phone at 812-855-5776; or made online at https://iufoundation.iu.edu (specify the name of the account: Circle of Life/Bill Littlefield Scholarship).
