The St. Joseph Police Department and other local law enforcement will raise awareness for the Special Olympics by running this week.

 

The annual Law Enforcement Torch Run began May 9th and continues through May 20th to end up at the Opening Ceremonies for the State Games in Springfield, Missouri. The Torch Run will be in St. Joseph on Tuesday, May 17th.

 

The Law Enforcement Torch Run was established by officers about 30 years ago to help raise awareness for the Special Olympics.

 

Rita Ketchem is Administrative Assistant at the St. Joseph Police Department and the Region One Coordinator for the Special Olympic Law Enforcement Torch Run.

 

“(The Torch Run) just kind of caught hold and began to become a fundraiser as well – because we do sell t-shirts to support the cause,” Ketchem said. “All that money does go to our athletes, not just in the state of Missouri, but this is a worldwide movement. The money is used to fund our athletes to send them to competitions, to get health care for them – basically just to help our community that suffers with intellectual disabilities.”

 

According to Ketchem, they hold other events throughout the year to raise funds including a polar plunge and “Tip a Cop.” The St. Joseph Police Department works as a team with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department and the Corrections Facilities in Cameron and Chillicothe to raise money for local athletes.

 

“We have found that by being involved with our athletes, we just always feel like that we have a lot to learn from them,” Ketchem said. “They have so much love to give and are just so supportive of each other that the rest of the world could really learn a lot from them.”

 

According to Ketchem, as of 2014, Missouri ranked sixth in the world for the amount of money raised from the Torch Run.
The local route of the Torch Run will depart at 9 a.m. on Tuesday from Maryville and is estimated to arrive and start at 3 p.m. from the Nature Center in St. Joseph. The run is about the distance of a 5K through the River Front Trail and ends at the St. Jo Frontier Casino.