Community Activities
Family Justice Center Kicks Off Inaugural Bacon Around the Bend 5k
The Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County hosted the first ever Bacon Around the Bend 5K run on Saturday, June 23, 2018. The race featured a 5k course covering the downtown area near the East Race. Adhering to its name, the race included multiple varieties of bacon available to sample at every check point. The finish line at Corby's Irish Pub had bacon-infused Bloody Marys, bacon macaroni and cheese, bacon pizza, and other snacks and treats for participants under 21.
Carleton, Inc. served as the major corporate sponsor of the event and Carleton employees volunteered.
A collaborative effort from local businesses made the event possible through:
- Corporate sponsorships
- In-kind donations including bacon, billboards, backpacks, and other food & beverages
- Additional man-power from volunteers
- Corby's generous contribution of space, staff and cooking facilities
Carleton teamed up with the Family Justice Center to establish the planning committee responsible for bringing the event to life. The group was led by Deb Grounds, Carleton's VP of Software Services and Sarah Milovich, Carleton's Corporate Attorney and Compliance Associate. Deb, serves as Board President for the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County and Sarah brought the vision to South Bend after attending a similar event in Chicago.
The event committee also included other Carleton employees: Kristin Dickerson, Kristi Parker, Matt Ruszkowski, and Tonya Hardisty. Carleton team members staffed a water and bacon stop along the route. Other employees and their family members that volunteered that day and/or participated in the race included:
- Ken, Karen, Anna, and Carter Chambers
- Brad and Christy Connor
- Deb Grounds
- Kristin Dickerson and Chris Luxon
- Joe and Hayley McTigue
- Sarah and Brad Milovich
- Kristi, Alex, Preston and Gianna Parker
- Pat and Sue Ruszkowski
- Matt, Brittany, Ryan, Vivie, and Stella Ruszkowski
The event saw over 220 participants come out to support and raise awareness for the Family Justice Center's core mission: providing help, healing, and hope to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The first-time event was a huge success raising $11,000 to fund the resources needed to ensure victims, survivors and their families have access to high-quality trauma informed care.
Carleton strives to be an active community participant and is highly involved with Habitat for Humanity, The United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Family and Children's Center, the River City Challenged Athletes and many other charitable organizations, fundraisers, and events. We hope to see many new faces come out for next year's race to help make a positive impact in a fun and healthy family-friendly environment. Hooray Bacon!
