For fourteen years, LVRR and St. Luke’s University Health Network have had a unique partnership. St. Luke’s is the primary sponsor for the club’s largest race and main fundraiser, the St. Luke’s Half Marathon, 5k, and Youth Run. In return for the support that St. Luke’s provides the club and race, LVRR offers fundraising entries in the final weeks of registration for the half marathon.
During those final weeks, the race entry fee for the Half Marathon goes to $100. The fund from those entries is then presented to St. Luke’s to go toward the cost of providing the Mobile Youth Health Centers (MYHC) program, a division of St. Luke’s Community Health. The mobile units provide free medical and dental care to local middle school and high-school students who might otherwise not receive treatment. Through visits made by St. Luke’s HealthStar vans during school hours, thousands of students who do not have a family doctor or insurance are able to receive care that is vital to their health and well-being. In addition to dental exams and sick visits, the program features counseling on a variety of topics including nutrition, smoking cessation, and dating violence. St. Luke’s MYHC is offered to eligible students at select city schools in Allentown and Bethlehem.
This year, 100 race entries were purchased at the fundraising level and a check for $10,000 was presented to the President of St. Luke’s Cedar Crest, Bill Moyer by LVRR president Leslie Billowitch, and co-race director for the half marathon, Brian Patterson. In 2023, 51 race entries were purchased during those final weeks.
Lehigh Valley Road Runners and St. Luke’s are happy to keep this partnership going, into its fifteenth year.