Be there with bells on for downtown Modesto fun run

Rudolph may be the one who gets to guide the sleigh, but lots of folks will do their best to be Dashers when the Spirit of Giving Jingle Bell 5K Run & Walk gets underway Saturday.

The sixth annual fun run starts and ends at Tenth Street Plaza, where there will be holiday vendor booths, snowfall and festivities including a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus and a free quarter-mile “Chase the Grinch out of Modesto” run for children 10 and under. Kids even get a goody bag after the run.

With all the merriment, it’s no place the Grinch would want to be, anyway. Over the years, there have been a growing number of participants in Santa suits and all manner of elf attire, from their jingle-bell caps to candy cane-striped stockings.

Bold red and green outfits have really taken hold with a lot of runners, said Barbara Miller with the ShadowChase Running Club, one of the sponsors of the run.

“We encouraged people to be festive, and they absolutely ran away with the idea,” she said.

Participation in the run began at a few hundred the first year and had grown to 1,200 last year, Miller said.

“It’s had a huge jump,” she said. “It’s tripled – more than that.”

Organizers anticipate 1,500 participants this year, perhaps more, she said.

“We think the sky’s the limit on this one.”

New this year, every registered runner will receive a participant medal featuring Grinch artwork from a commemorative painting by Gloria Bartels. Bartels has painted past works for the race, which have been auctioned for charity, Miller said.

As the Spirit of Giving name indicates, philanthropy is a key part of the seasonal event.

Three-fourths of the proceeds go to the Modesto Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department’s Leisure Bucks program, which helps give low-income children, seniors and individuals with disabilities access to recreational activities.

“Since 2007, the economic crisis has stripped funding for this program,” says a message on the Jingle Bell Run website, www.modestospiritofgiving.org. “The Leisure Bucks program is now privately supported, relying solely on the contributions of citizens and fundraising events such as the Modesto Spirit of Giving.”

“At one time, we had $100,000 in the general fund (for Leisure Bucks) and every qualifying participant received up to $100,” said Ashley Weaver, interim director of the parks and recreation department. “Then it was cut to $50,000 and each participant got $50.”

The program no longer gets any money from the general fund, Weaver said, but parks and recreation workers “saw its significance and the need to continue the program. That’s where Breakfast With Santa (another supporting event) and Spirit of Giving come in.”

The annual budget for Leisure Bucks now is about $25,000, she said.

“Of those kids who come to our office and qualify, we have not had to send anyone away.”

To qualify, a family must be low income as defined by HUD standards, Weaver said, or live on a HUD-designated low-income street. If they live on one of those streets, they qualify automatically. Each qualifying child receives a $50 Leisure Bucks card that can be used toward any city-run recreation program.

“We cover 90 percent of the program and ask that the family covers the remaining 10 percent,” Weaver said. To learn more, visit www.modestogov.com/prnd/recreation/finassist.asp.

Spirit of Giving also partners each year with a nonprofit in the city. This year, the Modesto Gospel Mission will receive 25 percent of the run/walk proceeds, plus the cans of food collected – “And we collect a lot of cans,” Miller said.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Be there with bells on for downtown Modesto fun run."