Three teams of Presbyterian College students ran in the HOPE Relay this past Saturday, Nov. 15.Each team consisted of four students who either ran or walked 3.5 miles, for a total of 14 miles per team. The relay benefited and was hosted by the Project HOPE Foundation, whose programs serve the autism community.

Junior Cara Blankenship and Senior Georgiana Sellers handled PC’s involvement in the relay. Thanks to their efforts and the sponsorships of Yo’Cup, RWI and Electrolux, students only had to pay $3 to participate. Blankenship and Sellers also handled the logistics of organizing students for the relay.

Students arrived at the Kroc Center in Downtown Greenville at 8 a.m., and began running at 8:30. The course took runners through downtown Greenville’s Falls Park, alongside the Reedy River, and over the US 123 Bridge. Volunteers lined the path, encouraging and cheering runners on as they passed.

“Georgie and I just felt like running, so then we decided to make a bunch of other people do it with us,” Blakenship said.

She added, “Project HOPE is a really neat program that helps kids all along the spectrum of autism, so of course we wanted to support that.”

Project HOPE provides a number of services, such as Bridging the Gap, an educational program that creates classrooms appropriate for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The foundation also reaches out to the families of children with ASD and offers them support.

Blankenship said, “It’s a way to get involved with the community, and it helps to keep us in shape. Next year I hope to have even more go to the relay.”