The annual JayWalk relay takes place on Saturday morning and is the first race to feature the entire scale of campus from the east to the west. The run will feature the typical 5K stretch, but one of this year’s event provides a shorter 3K route in addition to the longer route.

Rajeev Anchan, Arts & Sciences senior and vice president of student affairs for the Creighton Students Union, was the main coordinator of this year’s event. He said the main focus has been to take all the income of the event and give it entirely to the Jesuit Middle School.

“Our desire is that everyone who runs the race, everyone who walks the race, that their money goes directly to the Jesuit Middle School,” Anchan said. “While all of the proceeds are going to the Jesuit Middle School, it is a good cause and it’s just a good time to be outside and make a difference.”

The primary source of proceeds comes from the registration fees and private donations. The five businesses in the Omaha area and corporate sponsors that donated were Creighton Federal Credit Union, American National Bank, Windstream Communications, BlueCross BlueShield and Dundee Bank.

The JayWalk is run solely by students and is sponsored by CSU as one of its main events of the year. Traditionally, there is a coordinator who oversees the event. However, this year CSU aranged several committees to help out in specific areas, providing more efficient planning and implementation of the race. Arts & Sciences senior Angie Schmidt and Arts & Sciences junior Peter Woolman were among the nine student coordinators.

Schmidt has been in charge of registration and will be at the event to run the same-day registration. Woolman is one of the students who worked with the coordination of the race itself. He worked closely with the Omaha Police Department and will oversee the volunteers of the event.

Registration has been available online and through a mail-in form for several weeks. If students were not able to register ahead of time, there is an opportunity to sign up on the day of the event. Same-day registration begins on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at Degleman Circle.

One of the main highlights of this year’s race is that the entire scale of campus will be featured. The older buildings as well as the newer ones will be featured, including the Harper Center and the Ryan-Sokol Arena.

After the race, participants will meet in Morrison Stadium for a large pancake feed and raffle drawing for prizes. During this time, the Jesuit Middle School will be presented with the check of all the proceeds of the event.

Creighton students, faculty, staff, Jesuits, members of the Omaha community and many others are typically among those who participate in the run/walk marathon.

In order to ensure all of the earnings to go to the school, CSU covers the costs of T-shirts, the pancake feed at the end of the race and the cost of bringing in the Omaha Police Department to help regulate the route. The JayWalk raises money for the Jesuit Middle School in Omaha, making Creighton a community partner. The Jesuit Middle School is largely involved with providing an education for 4th- to 8th-grade students from lower income families. The school prepares these students for their lives by helping them make responsible decisions and gain control of their futures.

Normally, Creighton and Creighton Prep are involved in a weekly tutoring program at the school, but the JayWalk takes the partnership one step further by providing monetary donations that go towards scholarships. All of the money raised from the event goes directly towards this cause.

Schmidt participated in the JayWalk for the last two years but this year, her duties as registration coordinator will prevent her from running. She believes the diversity of participants shows the outpouring of support for the Jesuit Middle School cause.

“It was neat just to see all of the different members of the community there. There were really young kids who were walking and there were really avid runners,” Schmidt said. “It was really neat to see the whole community come together, not only the Creighton community but the Omaha community also.”

Woolman echoed her sentiments.

“The Jesuit Middle School is a great partner to have for the event. I think it really shows that Creighton is constantly reaching out to the greater Omaha community and trying to live out its mission and its Jesuit values through events like this,” Woolman said. “For me, it’s nice to see that students from across the board could just get involved with it.

“Everybody is pulling their own weight and I think it’s going to come together to be a really great event.”

The race begins on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in Deglman Circle. Those who registered ahead of the event can pick up their registration packets in the Student Activities Office.

For more information on the event, go to www.creighton.edu/jaywalk.