MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan (March 24th, 2018) – The Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni community participated in the fourth annual Color Me Aware Run at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, March 24, 2018.
The event was open to all ages and allowed participants to walk or run. They were powdered with colored cornstarch throughout the run, with each color representing a different issue. Pink represented breast cancer, blue was for child abuse, yellow for suicide, purple for domestic violence and red for drug and alcohol abuse awareness.
“This run shows that we want the community to come together and recognize that we are here for them,” said Angela Findley, prevention and education specialist for the Family Advocacy Program. “We want people to be aware of the assistance and opportunities that are available to service members and their families.”
Upon arrival the participants chose colored sunglasses to support the cause of their choice, and then they warmed up with Zumba before taking off with smiles on their faces at Penny Lake. They ran along the seawall where volunteers were set up to throw color packets at them. They finished back at Penny Lake covered head to toe in bright colors.
“Every last color signifies something such as pink for breast cancer awareness or blue for child abuse awareness,” said U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 3 Edwin C. Bates, food service officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “If you come out here you can become knowledgeable of issues that go on in our community.”
There were tables set up with information about the services and opportunities available to service members and their families about the causes the run brought awareness to.
“This event is important to me because it makes the community aware of things that happen in our community that we really don’t think about, and it highlights those causes.” said Jeffrey Fleming, resident at MCAS Iwakuni. “It makes them aware of where to go if they experience a situation pertaining to these causes.”