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Annual Riverfest 5K Laces Up To Support Laurel Non-Profit

The Oct. 7 race begins at 9 a.m. at Riverfront Park to support First Generation College Bound.

Laurel residents will lace up and start sweating on Oct. 7 to support young, motivated students looking to go to college.

In conjunction with the annual River Fest, First Generation College Bound will be hosting a race to raise funds for their non-profit organization benefiting students from low and moderate income families. FGCB is a Laurel non-profit located on Main Street. The organization seeks to get students thinking about education and college at an early age.

The 9th annual 5K race and 2-mile walking event has already generated more money to be donated to FGCB than last year’s event. Just more than $3,000 of corporate donations and registration fees were collected during last year’s race, director Nickole Conyngham said. So far this year, though, Conyngham has gathered $6,000 in corporate donations alone.

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“This money allows us to add things to the program that otherwise we may not have been able to do,” Conyngham said. “We want people to know that what they’re donating is going to benefit the kids. The donations are all going to the kids.”

 Conyngham said FGCB looks to help students in Prince George’s County who come from low- and moderate-income families with parents who did not attend college. There is a 2.0 minimum grade point average to be a part of the organization.

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The non-profit is broken down into four programs: a homework club for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, a college access program for high school students, a college retention program for students who have graduated from the organization and a new program to help middle school students start thinking about college before high school.

FGCB has graduated 420 students in their 23 years of existence, Conyngham said. Their goal is to raise enough money on Oct. 7 to help 600 students this school year.

“We were looking for a way to do an event in the community and get everyone involved and show what we can offer to Laurel,” Conyngham, who has been with the organization for two and a half years, said.

The race begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 7. and will start and finish at Riverfront Park. There is a $25 registration fee that can be done in advance on Active.com. Registration can also be done at 7:45 a.m. the morning of the event.

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