Past Events
The Color for Kindness 5K Run / Walk is a blast (of color!) - don't take it from us though, check out how much fun has been had in the past!
2023 - Year Seven
For our 2023 Color for Kindness 5K Walk / Run, we wanted to find a way to make more of an everlasting impact on our event participants. We wanted to provide more than just an event to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention, we wanted others to be able to learn more about the topic and our reasons behind hosting the event.
While the weather didn't cooperate, we were able to still have the walk /run after several weather delays. All our participants, 170 of them, were safe and dry (mostly, dry!) and well fed during the delays.
In ode to trying to make a larger impact we brought in a speaker to present to our participants over a meal after the race concluded. We welcomed Tom Thibodeau, and he reminded us all what a little bit of kindness can do and how it can change the trajectory of someone's life.
We also introduced our "In Honor" signs that we had placed throughout the picnic area during the presentation. It was a truly moving experience for all those involved and a phenomenal way to honor those who have lost their lives to suicide and those who are continuing on their mental health journey.
2022 - Year Six
We decided to adjust our annual date from October to September and we were very excited by the great choice this ended up being. The weather was much nicer and led to a lot of new ideas with the new date.
We had 103 participants for the event, and we added a bit of length to the course. The additional length was received very well by the participants with many of them thanking us for having more time to enjoy the beautiful trail!
In 2022, we were also able to utilize our years of fundraising to create a scholarship for those entering the mental health field. We worked with the La Crosse Area Community Foundation to establish the scholarship and with Viterbo University to select our eligible applicants.
This year was surreal because we were finally able to accomplish one of our largest goals in providing assistance to those who will be dedicating their lives to serving others and their mental health journeys.
2021 - Year Five
After the pandemic and not being able to host our annual walk / run in 2020, we came back better than ever in 2021. We continued on with our Pancake Breakfast tradition and added additional activities for participants to learn more about their own mental health while raising awareness for others. Some of these items included rock painting, t-shirt tie-dying, and more comradery throughout.
We ended up have a total of 137 participants for fifth annual Color for Kindness 5K Walk / Run. We were extremely pleased with our efforts and even more excited about the response from being able to have the event again - it was missed!
2019 - Year Four
The year of the pancake breakfast! In 2019, we added a Pancake Breakfast to the Color for Kindness 5K Run / Walk. Thanks to the generous donations of Kwik Trip and Convenience Trucking we were able to host a breakfast including eggs, pancakes, sausage, milk, coffee and juice prior to the 5K.
With a little over 120 participants in 2019, the breakfast was a great time for community members to connect and share their experiences with mental health.
2018 - Year Three
In 2018, Kevin's Legacy Foundation and the Color for Kindness 5K Walk / Run joined forces again with the Holmen Area Community Center and Features Bar and Grill in Holmen, Wisconsin.
We also were able to secure Ms. Jenna Legler as a performer for our Color for Kindness Walk / Run. The performance was incredibly and left others feeling like kindness was all around us.
We had over 150 participants join us to share in the beauty of the Holmen Halfway Creek Trail and to enjoy the wonderful powder raining down on them.
It was an event filled with kindness, hope and luck because the following day the Coulee Region had snow on the ground, which wouldn't have been ideal for our event or for our participants.
2017 - Year Two
Our first year doing the Color for Kindness 5K Walk/Run without any other partnerships. We found this event to be very rewarding as well because we were able to take 100% of the profits from the event and use them for our greater mission - to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention in the Coulee Region.
We also learned an incredible amount this year and ended up having 156 participants. Many participants loved the changes we had made and were grateful that we continued to have the event.
2016 - Year One
Describe your image
Our very first Color for Kindness 5K Walk / Run occurred in 2016 with several entities in partnership! We were so excited to have support in our goal to raise awareness and help reduce the stigma around mental health.
For our very first Color for Kindness event, we had 312 participants. Kevin's Legacy Foundation was ecstatic at the success of the event. After our inaugural year, we had the confidence to move forward with our own version of the Color for Kindness 5K. This led us to the event so many of you know and love today!
