L’mio Edwards runs for charity
The coronavirus pandemic has been particularly challenging for those already facing economic hardships, inspiring L’mio Edwards to work toward creating a change.
Edwards, a rising Diamond Bar High School freshman, has been running since she was in third grade and currently runs distance track and field and cross country.
Edwards has put her athletic skills to use, creating a GoFundMe page called 5KaDay4Food Challenge to raise money for a charity called New Earth. This charity gives groceries to those affected financially by the pandemic.
“To prepare myself for the 5K I ran a 6K for two and a half weeks, giving myself a two-day break,” Edwards said via text. “Then I ran a 5K a day for 30 days to initiate the #5KaDay4Food Challenge. Now I partner with others nationally doing the 5KaDay4Food Challenge to help food banks in their area and sometimes run a 5K here or other places to help people locally.”
Edwards said that she was inspired to do this by her father, Deon Edwards.
“I found out about what New Earth was doing to help people through my dad and
decided I wanted to do my part to help out,” Edwards said via text. “Knowing that some people are struggling to get food, I just wanted to help. It didn’t seem right to just ignore the problem and hope someone else was going to fix it.”
Edwards said that she has partnered with other people nationwide. This includes runners from the local community and others from Montana. Her fellow participants are using 5KaDay4Food as a brand, so that more people can benefit.
In addition, she was recognized by U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros, who represents Diamond Bar, on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 21 for her humanitarian work of running a 5k a day for 30 days to raise funds throughout the pandemic for people affected by Covid-19.
“Seeing the community give so much support to 5KaDay4Food makes me feel pretty excited and glad that so many people have donated to the cause,” Edwards said via text.
As of now, her GoFundMe has raised $9600 out of its 10k goal.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Diamond Bar High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
