Rainbow Run for kids across border

For a required service-learning project, Arroyo Vista Charter School students in Eastlake have to help the community in some way.

Some students are volunteering at their local libraries, others are hosting after school tutoring sessions.

But four students are taking on a life-threatening disease for young children fighting cancer across the border.

For the project, the four middle schoolers decided to raise awareness and money for cancer patients at Fundación Castro Limon, a nonprofit organization and children’s hospital in Tijuana.

“We know people suffer from it (cancer), so we decided to help their cause,” said eighth-grader, Ana Sofia Cardenas.

The students are in the process of finalizing their project, titled Rainbow Run, a 3K walk/run scheduled for 9 a.m., March 16 at Harvest Park at 1550 E. Palomar St.

Tickets for the event cost $20 for adults, $15 for kids and $50 for a family of four. Tickets can be purchased at www.walkingbeyondcancer.org or at Jalapeno Fruit Bar and Grill in the Otay Ranch Town Center.

Proceeds from the event will directly go to Fundación Castro Limon, the students said.

The students’ goal is to raise enough money to offset the cost of materials and donate to the organization.

Andrea Garcia, 13, said a visit to the children’s hospital motivated her to help raise money for the organization.

“When we visited Castro Limon, it really touched me because there were a lot of sick children,” Andrea said. “And they wouldn’t even let us come up to the window (to view the children) because the children were so sick.”

The project hits home for two of the group’s members.

Ana said she had a family friend who died from cancer.

And Andrea had a grandfather who lost his battle with the disease.

The meaning behind Rainbow Run is that the colors of the rainbow represent each form of cancer. The pink ribbon represents breast cancer, a gold ribbon supports childhood cancer, a green ribbon signifies gallbladder cancer, and a blue ribbon brings awareness to prostate cancer.

“At first it was going to be breast cancer,” Ana said about the run. “But then we thought it should be all cancers.”

Helping the students along the way is Veterans Elementary teacher and cancer survivor Clarissa Alba.

Alba’s role is to provide guidance as a cancer survivor and participant in several cancer runs.

Alba also is the one who signs off on the city permits, insurance and other paper work.

Alba said this is the students’ project and wants them to remain hands-on.

The teens are in charge of the planning and coordinating of the run. The students have mapped the run, figured out where to place water stations and decide which activities should be at the event.

“The kids pointed out that this is the first cancer walk/run in Chula Vista,” Alba said. “The race itself, I think will bring lots of awareness within our community.”

The event is also slated to have vendors, representatives from Fundación Castro Limon educating the public about their organization, and on-site support groups for any person with a relative who has cancer or if they themselves have cancer.

Hosting the run is just a small part of the school project.

In May, the students have to create a Power Point presentation explaining what they did and how their project helped a cause in front of a panel of judges.

“It’s different from community service because community service is more like volunteering,” Ana said about the service learning project. “For us, you have to try to partner up with an organization or a cause to try to help them.”