Dakin Humane Society’s Will Run for Cookies Event Set for May 18
SPRINGFIELD — Dakin Humane Society will hold its third annual Will Run for Cookies 5K Run and 2K Walk to benefit the organization’s services and programs on Saturday, May 18 in Westfield’s Stanley Park. Registrants will be invited to bring their dogs (on non-retractable leashes) to take part in the event.
Event day registration/check-in will take place at 9 a.m., and the race will begin at 10:30 a.m. Click here for pre-registration, which will be accepted through May 16. The event will be held rain or shine, and refunds are not available.
Free race T-shirts and one cookie per person and dog participant will be given to those who pre-register during the early-bird registration period, which will end on April 1. The early-bird registration fees are $20 for 12 years and younger, and $30 for over age 12. The adult registration fee will increase to $35 after April 1, and to $40 on the day of the event. The 12-and-younger fee will remain the same. General pre-registration and race-day registration include a cookie for human and dog participants, but a race shirt is not guaranteed.
“This is our third year celebrating the person/pet bond at our Cookie Run event,” said Stacey Price, Dakin’s director of Development and Marketing. “We’re very happy to return to Westfield’s Stanley Park, which is especially beautiful in May and provides an ideal setting for everyone to enjoy a day outdoors with their friends and dogs. Dakin’s services exist to strengthen the bond between people and pets, and everyone who participates in our event is lending a hand to animals in need, and the people who love them, right here in the Pioneer Valley.”
Participants are encouraged to fundraise to help give animals the food, shelter, and medical treatment they need. Every dollar raised goes toward creating happier and healthier lives for animals both at Dakin and in homes that need the organization’s services.
As a fundraiser incentive, every individual who raises $100 will receive a blue beanie hat. The beanie hat was chosen by Dakin to honor a kitten named Beanie who had been rescued in frigid weather in 2020. She was part of a litter living outdoors that was humanely trapped and brought to Dakin for care by Dakin’s Kitten Street Team, an all-volunteer group that responds to calls reporting sightings of cats, especially kittens, living outdoors. Beanie is one of the more than 1,500 felines helped by the Kitten Street Team since it was launched four years ago.
Participants are also encouraged to form teams to support each other, fundraise together, and come up with creative team names.