UConn Health

September 23, 2013 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS) - UConn Health

South Park 5K This Weekend

All are invited to the biggest fundraiser of the year for the student-run outreach clinics at Hartford’s South Park Inn, Sept. 28.

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Runners make a turn by Dowling North during the 2012 South Park 5K Road Race and Fitness Walk. (Ted Gargano for UConn Health Center)

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Runners make a turn by Dowling North during the 2012 South Park 5K Road Race and Fitness Walk. (Ted Gargano for UConn Health Center)

The South Park 5K Road Race and Fitness Walk returns to the UConn Health Center campus for a 16th year Saturday, Sept. 28, and the student organizers invite everyone from the community to join them.

“This race is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” says Melissa Argraves, a second-year student at the UConn School of Medicine and one of this year’s organizers. “Without it, we would not be able to effectively run the outreach clinics at South Park, which provide service to hundreds of patients each year. The support from the local community is so important and really means a lot.”

The race benefits the outreach clinics at the South Park Inn Shelter in Hartford, which provide free primary care medical and dental services to its transient residents. The clinics are run by students and local physician volunteers.

“All of our proceeds go directly towards stocking the clinic with medications and supplies, helping us continue to provide primary care to the homeless population at the South Park Inn,” says fourth-year medical student Amy Dora, who serves as a director on the clinic board.

Registration fee is $15 in advance or $20 on race day. On-site registration starts at 7 a.m. The race starts at 9 a.m. in front of Dowling North. Food and music will be provided and prizes awarded.

“Participating in the South Park 5K is an easy way to help fund medical and dental clinics at South Park Inn, which not only provides essential health care to the homeless but also provides essential learning experiences for medical, dental, and pharmacy students,” says second-year medical student and race co-chair Joshua Goldman. “Serving a transient population has forced me to consider options that I would not consider at my Student Continuity Practice, which is located in an affluent town.”

For more information about the race, email argraves@uchc.edu. Online registration is available at http://bit.ly/2013SP5k.

Also part of the event again this year is the offering of free skin cancer screenings from 8 to 11 a.m. For more information about that, email alachance@mph.uchc.edu.

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