Red, pink, blue, and yellow chalk filled the air on Saturday, May 18, as students, teachers, and community members participated in a Color Run to raise awareness for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. Myasthenia Gravis is a latin for 'serious muscular weakness' and is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes that causes weakness in different muscular areas. Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America is the only foundation in existence for this rare disease and it works to help those families affected by this disease.
Seniors Alex Sexton and Justin Coleman organized the Color Run for MG Awareness as their SLE. For Sexton, myasthenia gravis hits close to home; his mother, Tina Sexton, was originally diagnosed in July of 2010 with the mild form of disease, but in August 2017 she was diagnosed with rarer form of the disease. Both boys wanted to bring awareness to the community and raise money for those battling this devastating diseases.
Senior Justin Coleman explained why they decided to use a color run for the event: "I remember the color runs that we did in middle school and how special they were. They were great ways to interact with others and raise money for a good cause." Within two hours of their event, they had raised $250 and, by the end, they received an estimated $700 with donations still coming in!
The goal was to bring awareness and these seniors worked hard to get their message out there. The community's awareness for this disease grew tremendously with those that went to the run and it can only be assumed that they will share their knowledge with their loved ones and friends. The money will go along ways in helping those families who have been affected by this disease.
