The Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) Iwakuni Behavioral Health Program hosted the 5th annual Color Me Aware Run at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, March 30, 2019.
The goal of the event was to collaborate with the community and bring awareness to different types of abuse and issues that impact society.
Once signed up for the event, participants were given a selection of colored sunglasses to support a cause of their choice. There were also tables set up with information to inform service members and their families about the causes the event brought awareness to.
Many participants were showered with brightly colored corn starch as they ran, and each color represented a different type of abuse or issue. Blue represented child abuse, teal for sexual assault, yellow for suicide, pink for breast cancer, purple for domestic violence, red for drug and alcohol abuse, and orange for teen dating violence.
Participants were given the choice to run a 5k or walk a 3k course. The course itself was along the seawall, overlooking the Monzen River. Volunteers set up areas to throw color packets at the runners.
“I’m a huge advocate of supporting our community, and I love volunteer opportunities and working with volunteers,” said Angie Olberding, the assistant fitness director with the MCAS Iwakuni Semper Fit Program. “This event was important to me because as a person who has been personally impacted with breast cancer in my family, this really gives us an opportunity to say, ‘these things don’t just impact children, women or men individually, they impact the entire family.’ We are doing family fitness and raising awareness at the same time and I think that is the perfect combination.”
The behavioral health program on the air station conducts everything from counseling, new parent support, drug awareness and sexual assault support.
“If it’s happening out in the world, then you’re going to find that it’s happening here in the Marine Corps,” said Olberding. “If we can bring an awareness to these issues and take away those incidents that are happening, we can definitely make our community a lot stronger.”
If you or a person you know has been impacted by any of the issues listed above, please contact the MCCS Iwakuni Behavioral Health Program at DSN: 315-253-4526.
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