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BCMB Student Organizes Running Club for the Homeless
After a University of Tennessee student got involved with a homeless ministry, Chelsea Knotts, a BCMB major, came up with a way to help the homeless get back on track through running.
"I'm involved with the Haslam Scholars Program and we wanted to have a community service project so we decided to start working with Redeeming Hope Ministries which tries to help the homeless to get back on their feet," Chelsea Knotts explained.
It's a natural connection for the pre-med student whose been running since she was in 6th grade.
"Running is great for me," she said. "It builds my self confidence, it keeps me healthy, it helps me learn goal setting and commitment and things like that so I thought it would be a great thing to start with our homeless friends."
Chelsea Knotts already knew some homeless people through Redeeming Hope Ministries at a church near the Tennessee campus. That's where her new running club gathered for their first official session.
"The biggest problem has been contacting them and then on top of that we've had to get all their gear and their physicals and that's been a little bit of a challenge. It's taken us a few months actually to get started but today's our first practice and we're all really excited," she said.
Robert Wilson signed up for the club at Redeeming Hope Ministries.
He walks and rides a bike but he's not really a runner, yet.
"I just want to get out there and do it, see if I can do it," Wilson said.
Knotts secured sponsors to outfit the runners. Fleet Feet owner Shahin Hadian showed up with a car full of supplies.
"We have some shoes, we have shirts, we have socks, shorts haven't come in yet but they'll get shorts," Hadian said.
"Fleet Feet has really been the biggest sponsor for us. They've offered to outfit all of our runners in shoes and all the gear we need and things like that. Runners Market has also been a huge help," Knotts said.
The running club does not yet have a name but it does have a goal.
"We're going to be training for a 5K. We're starting out really slow and really laid back but hopefully they're going to running in a 5K on November 12th that will benefit themselves and Redeeming Hope Ministries," Knotts said.
The runners started to jog. "Just go really slow!" Knotts called out.
They are starting slow: walking a minute, running 30 seconds, off and on, easing in to training.
Volunteers and the homeless run together in matching shirts and new shoes.
"They're nice. I enjoy them," Robert Wilson said. "I'm going to try to stay with it. I hope I make it through the whole thing."
Chelsea Knotts hopes to have ten to 12 in the club running three days a week to prepare for the 5K race.
"It's a really great way to build friendships with people you wouldn't normally hang out with. And I think it's really good for them. It helps them build their self confidence, it helps them work towards a goal that they have and hopefully it will help them throughout their lives," she said.
If you would like to volunteer, contact Chelsea Knotts at cknotts@utk.edu.
Retrieved from: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=178545