By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The deadline for the fifth-annual First Call for Help Amazing Race is approaching, and the nonprofit has made some changes to make participating in the challenge more accessible.
Laura Schoaff, First Call project coordinator, noted the Amazing Race is not a foot race. It is a set of 10 challenges that are hosted by businesses across the city. People of all abilities ages 12 and older are encouraged to participate.
At least one member of the four-member team must be a licensed driver and have transportation.
First Call for help is a nonprofit that helps people in Ellis County in times of financial stress or crisis. The nonprofit will use all proceeds from the Amazing Race to support rent and utility assistance in Ellis County, Schoaff said. Local residents can apply for assistance once a year.
“[The money] gets used quickly, because there are a lot people in our town who are in need of assistance,” Schoaff said.
First Call has decreased the team cost to $200. First Call already has donors who are willing to sponsor teams this year if a group of volunteers is unable to raise the full entry fee.
You can be a silver sponsor of the event for $1,500 or a bronze sponsor for $500. You can contact First Call for more information on these sponsorship levels.
If you don’t have a full team of four, you can contact First Call and they will try to pair you with other racers to make a full team. If donors would like to give to the fundraiser, but they don’t want to participate in the race, they can still sponsor a team.
Church or youth groups are encouraged to participate. Businesses are also challenged to mount teams. Teams can also wear costumes the day of the race if they wish. One year racers from Emprise Bank dressed up as bank robbers.
All team members with receive a free T-shirt and water bottle plus snacks.
This year the number of challenges have been decreased to 10. All the challenges, clues to the locations and challenge sites are kept secret until the day of the race. The challenges are changed every year.
Last year, teams had to count a bag of money at Sunflower Bank. One year, racers had to collect canned food for the First Call for Help pantry door to door. Yet another challenge included racers required to pose as mannequins in the Maurices window. Yet another year, the racers had to pick a diamond out of a case of cubic zirconia at Diamond R. Jewelry.
Teams have also decorated cookies, eaten snow cones, panhandled for doughnuts, and created flower arrangements and delivered them to a nursing home.
If you get stuck on a challenge, you might have consequences. You might have to give someone a compliment or complete an act of kindness before you can move on.
The winning team is determined on time.
“That is my goal,” Schoaff said. “I want it to be fun. I want it to be something that everyone can be a success in. I don’t want it to be so hard that no one likes it.”
The contestants thus far have been game and accepted all the challenges that have been thrown at them.
“That is one of the things I love,” Schoaff said. “The people come back, and they are so excited. They are, ‘I’m going to do this again next year.’ ”
First Call has had great cooperation from the businesses in the community in the previous four years of the race, Schoaff said.
“It really gets people talking about locations that maybe they didn’t have a reason to go into,” she said. “Maybe they have never been in there before.”
The Amazing Race will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7. Check-in will be at 9:15 a.m. the day of the race at the Venue.
There will also be prizes this year for those who raise at least $100, $200 or $300.
Registration can be done online at www.firstcallelliscounty.com/amazing-race or by phone at 785-623-2800. The deadline to register is Monday, Feb. 24. The registration fee must be paid before the day of the race.
For more information, contact Schoaff at 785-623-2800 or see the First Call Facebook page.
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