What started as a handful of locals looking for a race to run has turned into a 24 member organization bent on raising impactful funds for St. Jude. Marcie Hoskins, one of the founding members of the 618 Crew for St. Jude spoke at Kiwanis Thursday. The group has grown since it all started in 2019. She explains…
“That very first year, there were 4 or 5 of us looking for a race to go run. We found the St. Jude run in Memphis and went down and ran it; that experience had a profound effect on all of us. Part of the route, they have a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon and a full, and each distance, part of the course is you run through the campus of St. Jude. Not only that, but weather permitting they bring the kids out and they’re there cheering us on and make signs. And when they’re holding up a sign that says ‘thank you for saving my life’, it’s hard not to be impacted and it’s hard to run and cry at the same time. So anyway, we came back home and decided we’re going to make this our mission.”
The group has grown to two dozen individuals spread out amongst Carmi, McLeansboro, and Millstadt (in St. Clair County) and has proven itself in its fundraising capabilities.
“For 2023, our team was 5th out of 55 teams in the Missouri and southern Illinois region for fundraising and 18th out of 1,059 teams nationwide. So we raised for 2023, $101,272 and since we started, we’re nearing $400,000 over the last 4 years basically.”
The members of 618 Crew for St. Jude hold a mixture of individual and team fundraisers throughout the year. The 5th annual Carmi Putt Pub Crawl is coming up on Saturday, March 16th. Hoskins has the details.
“Our team built our own miniature putt putt holes and we set them up at different locations throughout downtown Carmi and you get to go play mini golf. We also have 50/50, raffle items, several large items for a live auction, we solicit hole sponsorships, and then basically a team of 4 can participate for $40 per team with advance registration or $50 day of registration. We’ll also have 5th Street food truck out front at the Carmi Elks, our headquarters for the event, so even if you’re not going to play golf, you can come up and get some food. If you plan on coming up though, registration starts at noon and then everybody starts at 1pm and then we give everyone 4 hours to kind of roam around and have a good time playing the holes. Best team average wins.”
You can find the flyer for the event with full details and contact information if you have questions or want to sign up by clicking here.
In Kiwanis business, the club is a hole sponsor for the event. It was also announced Kiwanis is making a donation for a window at the Robinson Stewart House and will sponsor a team for the Carmi Recreational Summer League. The Kiwanis Father-Daughter Dance will be held on April 13th.
