By Anna Skinner
Angie Smitherman, an administrative manager with the City of Westfield, runs many miles to aid in Back on My Feet – Indianapolis, an organization that works to combat homelessness through running. On Sept. 17, she will add 200 more miles to her running resume when she and 11 others travel to Cumberland, Md., to run in a relay to Washington, D.C.
Through September, Smitherman and her team will try to raise $1,200 each for Back on my Feet. Two other team members, Susannah and Bill Dyson, also are from Westfield. All three participate in the Westfield Running Club.
“When I started this club last year, that’s how Bill and Susannah got introduced to Back on my Feet, and they have been volunteers for six months,” Smitherman said. “They drive downtown to Indianapolis once a week to run with the team and then come back to Westfield and go to work as engineers in Kokomo.”
The relay path passs through forest trails and Civil War-era towns. The team will run past the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The run lasts overnight from Sept. 16 to Sept. 17.
Although none of the members who benefit from BOMF will travel to Maryland with the relay team, they do assist Smitherman and other relay members with their fundraising. The roles switch as the BOMF members volunteer for the volunteers that normally help them.
One example is a canoe float that Smitherman organized last week for her fundraising goal.
“Members help in our training and canoe float,” she said. “There is a chapter for Back on my Feet over in Washington, D.C., and this is one of their biggest fundraisers.”
The relay is put on through Ragnar. To donate to the team, visit https://give.backonmyfeet.org/BoMFIndyRAGNAR.
