With the season of giving soon to be here, Kennett Run Charities – the fundraising wing of the annual Kennett Run – got a recent jump on the holidays by awarding a total of $19,900 to one dozen area agencies at its annual presentation meeting on Nov. 2 at the Kennett Library & Resource Center.

Those organizations receiving contributions were: A Child’s Light ($2,000); Arts Holding Hands & Hearts, Inc. ($1,500); Camp Dreamcatcher ($1,400); Kennett After School Association/After the Bell ($2,000); Kennett Education Foundation ($1,500); Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc. ($2,000); the New London Counseling Center ($1,000); the Rotary Club of Kennett Square ($1,500); The Barn at Spring Brook Farm ($2,000); the Unionville Community Fair ($1,000); Walk in kNowledge ($2,000); and Young Moms ($2,000).

Since its founding in 1989, Kennett Run Charities has raised more than $1.25 million for organizations throughout southern Chester County.

In his presentation before recipient agencies and race sponsors, Kennett Run President Robert Merkle said that the 2023 Kennett Run – held on May 6 – raised over $30,000 for the Kennett Square community, as well as the $2,500 investment Kennett Run Charities made to improve trail conditions in Anson B. Nixon Park prior to the event. In addition, the organization is investing $7,800 in high school sports booster programs to help fund equipment needs, create scholarship opportunities and increase student participation.

Merkle said that through effective marketing – due in part to Kennett Charities’ partnership with Launch Collective and Chavez Communications – the Kennett Run increased its runner registrations by 22 percent this year in comparison to 2022, about seven percentage points greater than what other charitable races across the U.S. are recording.

“I feel confident in saying the runners had a much better time this year than in 2022,” Merkle said. “The 5K race time dropped by about a minute, and the 10K times by over 2 minutes. The PoweRunners had a similar improvement. I’m sure the wonderful weather had a lot to do with the faster times. 

“We do a lot of our social media marketing in conjunction with the Ches-Mont league high schools. I think the effectiveness of this for us is shown by the outsized increase we experienced in runners between 14 and 19, and 30 to 49 years old.” 

The following sponsors of the Kennett Run were also recognized for their long-time support of the fundraising event: Brutcher, Foley, Milliner, Land & Kelly; Café Americana 2; Chadds Ford Climate Control; Chatham Financial; Chavez Communications; Chester County Eye Care; Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists; Kendal Crosslands Communities; Launch Design Collective; Mercer Restoration/Aureus Group; Perna & Abracht, LLC; Phillips Mushroom Farms; Pollock Music Lessons, LLC; Qfix/Civco; SERVPRO of Kennett Square/Oxford; Sinton Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc.; Taylor Oil & Propane; The Tri-M Group, LLC; The 2SP Group; and WSFS.

The 35th Kennett Run will be held on May 4, 2024.

To learn more about the Kennett Run and Kennett Run Charities, visit www.kennettrun.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Kennett Run Charities