Remle Scott
After a wet and grueling Halloween night, the morning of Saturday, Nov. 1 left a few rain puddles for Domestic Violence Solution’s first annual “5k Run/Walk for Love.” With over 200 runners registered for the event, local businesses and community members came out to show their support and motivate participants.
Starting at 9 AM, the 5k run/walk began at the Goleta Beach parking lot, ran parallel along the road and beach, and finished back where it began. Signifying the start and finish of the race was a balloon arch, and the cheerleaders and drum team from Dos Pueblos High School lined the sides of it.
DVS is a nonprofit organization, or “agency,” that advocates for social change on the ideas and principles of domestic violence. The org works with Santa Barbara County and provides resources for victims, both prevention and intervention.
Personal trainer and life motivator Jenny Schatzle, a prominent leader in the community, delivered a pre-run warm up routine for the participants as well as a few words of motivation.
“A lot of the runners are survivors. There was a women who was murdered and the family and friends came out today for support,” said Associate Executive Director Marsha Marcoe. Alexandra Tang, a 24-year-old woman native to Santa Barbara, and a recent graduate of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend at his mom’s home in Laguna Hills. In her memory, Tang’s family and friends registered for the event, continuing to bring awareness to such issues of domestic violence.
The fundraising event was set up in a way for teams or individuals to register and raise money leading up to the morning of the run. District Attorney Joyce Dudley started the team “District Attorneys for DVSolutions” and participated in the run with her daughter. The organization and event welcomed all ages, families, and people from various backgrounds to come together, raise awareness, and support each other. Another note-worthy team, representing the Greek community of UCSB, was “Beta Theta Pi Challenges Gamma Phi Beta,” which rose over their goal amount with $285.
“With recent issues with sports players and other high profile cases, it’s important to shed light and support on domestic violence,” said Matt Capritto, owner of Caribbean Coffee Company. Capritto’s local business came out on the morning of the event and handed out free coffee and tea for the runners and supporters of the event, but he doesn’t stop there. “We also donate 5% of our profits to philanthropy to supports organizations like DMS and Vow4mal.” Vow4mal is a non-profit that sets out to prevent drinking and driving in the community. The local business has been around for 26 years and continues to “give back to nonprofit organizations doing wonderful work in the world locally and globally.”
In addition to Caribbean Coffee Company, many other businesses in the community sponsored the event, including Backyard Bowls, The Natural Café, and The SB Bar. With a high goal of $200,000, DVS’ 5k Run/Walk raised $65,426. The proceeds contribute to the services DVS provides for the victims of domestic violence and for the commitment of positive social change on such issues.
For more information on DVS and how to get involved, visit www.dvsolution.org or call (805)963-2258.