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| Yam Jam 5k, 10k Run Set To Raise Funds For ECKAAA |
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| News | |||
| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 04 November 2009 08:00 | |||
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Like many organizations funded primarily through state and federal channels, the East Central Kansas Area Agency on Aging has been feeling the pinch of severe budget cuts in recent months. As a result, organizations are getting creative with the way they solicit outside funding, and the ECKAAA is no exception. Exhibit A: the Yam Jam. “The Yam Jam just started last year,” said Collyn Peterson, Louisburg resident and ECKAAA advisory board member. “They knew that the funding was going to get cut and the workload was getting bigger, and the financial resources weren’t there.” This Saturday, runners from throughout Anderson, Coffey, Franklin, Linn, Miami and Osage counties will line up at North Lake in Garnett for either a 5K or 10K run. Participants are given the opportunity to seek out sponsorships, help increase fund-raising dollars and benefit the agency’s work. Peterson and ECKAAA director Elizabeth Maxwell are hoping that the Yam Jam, which was the idea of special projects coordinator Leslea Rockers, becomes a local tradition. With $70,000 in state funding cut from the ECKAAA budget this year, the event already is an important source of operating funds. “It is the only fund-raiser our agency does,” Maxwell said. “We just do one a year, and this is it. So whatever we earn in this, that’s whatever we’ll be putting out in custom care items this year.” The agency is something of which many residents are still unaware, Peterson said. As an advocate for elderly residents in Louisburg, Paola, Osawatomie and cities throughout the region, ECKAAA operates with the goal of allowing senior citizens to live independently in their homes for as long as possible. Some of the services the agency provides include caregiver relief, housekeeping, dental and hearing aids, legal assistance, meals and medical equipment. “When your parents can no longer stay in their home or they’re having special issues because of the aging process, Triple A is just a wonderful organization to work with families and get them pointed in the right direction,” Peterson said. The element of service most affected by the recent budget cutbacks has been custom care, Maxwell said. This includes such items as dentures, wheelchairs and electric scooters, she explained, and it’s up to the Yam Jam to help replenish that budget. “That’s why our Yam Jam is so important to us this year,” Maxwell said. “We don’t have another place to go to fund those items.” The 2009 Yam Jam will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at North Lake in Garnett. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. Race-day registration for the event will not be allowed; sign-ups close at 5 p.m. Thursday. The entry fee is $25 for the 5K and $30 for the 10K. To register online, go to www.eckaaa.org. For more information, call Leslea Rockers at (785) 242-7200.
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