Over the past weekend, several classmates/friends and I volunteered at the 9^th Annual Run for All Children family-friendly race, which benefited patients and families at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. It was the perfect opportunity to help my community and fulfill a CCL for NUHS-DC program requirements. Having participated in a running race before and having watched from the sidelines, I was excited to be a part of the event process and yield a new perspective. I believe it is so important to support organizations such as Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and their causes. Going into a medical field, I think it’s important to also support other medical professions too. In the end, we are all trying to serve our community and patients, relieve pain, and enhance optimal wellness…We all just have different methods in attaining those goals.

Chris and I helped pass out snacks and drinks to athletes that had just finished their races. Vincent and Peter handed out beers to adult athletes. After the event, we helped clean up stations, breakdown tents and tables, and collect leftover snacks to be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charity. I appreciated knowing that this organization would pay it forward and donate its leftovers to another good organization.

It was humbling to serve as a volunteer in this event and recognize how kind all the athletes were when accepting snacks and beverages. I had several thank me for volunteering. Snacks were free, but most adult athletes were frugal and would only take one snack each. Children were much more eager to take handfuls of snacks. I couldn’t blame them. Children running races early in the morning on a weekend… that’s quite inspiring! Whether they ran for the cause, for health, or as a family outing, I think it’s fantastic to see young kids following a healthy lifestyle. In my future practice, I would love to encourage families to participate in events such as this one. It’s a fantastic way to support important causes, promote physical health and mental health, as well as a wonderful bonding experience for family members.

Upper left: Chris and Alex manned the snack tent…

Upper right: While classmates Vincent and Peter manned the adult beverage truck.

Lower left: Meet our new family member…Zeus, our 11-week-old 6 lb. Schnoodle!

Lower right: Chris, Vincent and Peter catch a break at the 9^th Annual Run For All Children at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, Fla.

I couldn’t help but notice many athletes with Kinesio tape around their knees and ankles. It has encouraged me to practice my taping skills and earn a certification so that I can one day serve as a chiropractor prepping athletes for events such as this one. If I’m not running the race, then I’d love to be on the sidelines with medics providing therapeutic techniques to athletes before and after the races. It would serve my community well if I can apply K-tape, apply soft tissue modalities (FAKTR, pin-and-stretch, etc), and support athletes on their venture for health and wellness.

In future volunteering events, I’d like to create more opportunities to speak with athletes, learn about how they trained, and see how I could offer my future services to facilitate their health and training. All in all, it was a wonderful event, and I am glad I could serve my community with friends.