Finish with flying colors

Life4U’s Paint Race fundraises for Children’s Miracle Network and hospitals

Students and families across Lynchburg dashed across the trails at Peaks View Park in the sun while embracing sudden explosions of color at Life4U’s third annual 5K Paint Race Saturday, April 18. The race was hosted to support children with various medical needs through the organization Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) according to Ross Cleveland, Life4U’s founder and president.

Life4U is a Liberty student-run organization that strives to provide the emotional and financial support for children affiliated with CMN through Lynchburg General Hospital with the help of the Lynchburg community, Cleveland said.

Cleveland, a senior at Liberty, said he has always had a heart for serving children in need and had planned similar events while he was in high school. He saw an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and families in the Lynchburg area who may be struggling with various health conditions and financial debt.

“I have a deep passion in bringing hope to children who are in need,” Cleveland said. “There are so many families that have children fighting a daily battle just so they can survive another day, and if we can come alongside them to provide the encouragement they need during such a hard and exhausting time in their lives … (while also) taking that financial burden off of many of the families that are trying to pay for that next medical bill, … it truly means everything.”

When Cleveland reached out to CMN to assist in his goal of providing emotional and financial support for terminally ill children, CMN helped Cleveland along with many others sharing in his passion to form Life4U, according to CMN hospitals coordinator Jack Whisler.

Whisler explained that CMN’s partnership with Life4U has produced incredible outcomes. The supplies given as a part of Life4U’s fundraising allows for CMN hospitals to have equipment to transport premature babies to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Virginia Baptist Hospital. The other sum of funds given from Life4U allowed CMN to open its newest Center for Childbirth and Family Education, both of which are located at Virginia Baptist Hospital. Additionally, Life4U’s contribution helped build the Pediatric Center and Emergency Department Pediatric Pod at Lynchburg General Hospital.

Pam Jarman, the mother of Hunter Jarman, who is one of the children who benefits from the partnership between Life4U and CMN, expressed her gratitude toward the organizations that have and will continue to help her family. Hunter Jarman has been treated for infantile idiopathic scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

“Hunter has been through so many surgeries and challenges, … (but) CMN is always there to help,” Pam Jarman said. “And the kids just love (the Paint Race). It’s a great way for them to meet other kids and families that are going through many of the same things.”

The race featured an untimed 5K run with four paint stations along the route, where runners mostly sporting white event T-shirts were plastered with a range of orange, pink, green and blue paint powder by Life4U staff volunteers, leaving participants covered from head to toe by the time they reached the finish line.

Nicole Hawkins, a sophomore at Liberty University, stormed through the course with little difficulty, finishing first.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done the paint run, and I thought it was really fun,” Hawkins said. “They gave you something to look forward to each little bit and
(the paint) definitely gets in your eyes. … But I think it’s something I would definitely do again.”

Life4U also provided a variety of food and frozen treats for runners along with entertainment, from a photo booth for those wanting to show off their new “pops of color” look to a performance by Liberty dance crew D-Trex. The event ended with a color pit filled with dancing and laughter from both staff and participants.

Hawkins said that while she enjoyed the fun concept of the race, Life4U strongly reminded runners of the true purpose of the event: to serve the kids affected by CMN. The race raised $8,200 in funds that would benefit CMN and Lynchburg General Hospital, many of whom attended and participated in the festivities.

Adrianna Eagle, a student at Liberty, is one of the people who benefit from the funds raised because of chiari malformation, which results in issues in the cerebellum, the part of the brain in charge of balance according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

“This is my second year participating and I loved it,” Eagle said. “It definitely has a huge impact on all of us because we get so hyped for it. It’s something really exciting to do, … and I’ve really seen how God is working through this ministry and through Liberty, and it’s amazing to see lives change through this.”

According to Sadie Plasterer, a senior at Liberty and co-founder of Life4U, she thought the event was a complete success and was very pleased with the outcome and total number of participants.

“All the money we raised for the kids, whether it would have been $500 or $8,200, is awesome either way because it’s all for them,” Plasterer said.

Life4U is hoping to eventually hold an activity-filled marathon on campus, including tournaments in sports such as soccer, volleyball and basketball for the student body to hear the stories of each and every family that is being helped through Life4U and CMN while fighting various medical conditions and financial struggles. The purpose of the event will be to signify that each student who is willing to participate is standing up for a cure and for a life.

“In the end, each event or activity we plan is just another avenue of saving lives (and) sharing love,” Cleveland said. “We want families seeing and feeling the love of Jesus Christ in every action taken by our organization.”

For more information about Life4U, visit their Facebook at facebook.com/lulife4u and for information regarding Children’s Miracle Network, visit childrensmiraclenetwork
hospitals.org.

ELLIOTT is a feature reporter.