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The Extra Mile is bringing awareness to the plight of health care for the children of Sacramento's inner-city. Jason Harper Founder of The Extra Mile Run began serving on the campus of Oak Ridge Elementary School in the heart of Sacramento's roughest neighborhoods.
Harper began fund-raising for the children at Oak Ridge back in 2005, when he and Rick Cole, "two 'non-runners'" at the time, as Harper describes them, decided to tackle the Big Sur International Marathon to help the kids of Oak Park. They collected pledges, completed the marathon, and saw the creation of Equal Start, a non-profit organization that has since poured over $250,000 in support, supplies, and 2,500 hours of volunteer services into Oak Ridge Elementary School.
"Still, problems persisted for the impoverished students at Oak Ridge, including stubbornly low scores on standardized tests like the STAR exams. Harper talked with Mr. Steve Lewis, Principal at Oak Ridge Elementary, about the problems the kids still faced. Harper recalls how quickly and clearly Principal Lewis responded, saying "lack of health care for his students was the single greatest hurdle..." Harper's new goal was to secure health coverage for the students. In addition to assisting families with coverage costs, the Extra Mile Run aimed to help families whose children already qualified for public assistance to navigate enrollment forms and procedures, so they could connect with the services available to them. The team also worked to establish a transportation system for getting kids to and from doctors' and dentists' appointments, no small part, as any busy working parent knows."
"On May 15, 2008 as the students at Oak Ridge Elementary School finished taking their California STAR exams, Jason Harper started on a 100-mile run around the city of Sacramento to improve their health care. Harper called it The Extra Mile Run. The idea was simple: Raise awareness and funding to secure health care coverage for every child on the campus of Oak Ridge. From treatment for toothaches to glasses for vision problems, addressing these needs could improve their academic performance, thereby improving their lives. At the very least, Harper and his team of supporters, including parents, school staff, and community volunteers, hoped to give these inner-city kids an equal start on the path to success." -Sacramento Parent Magazine
Despite triple digit heat, Harper finished the 100-mile-run in 29 hours and 35 minutes. The event was a huge success. Harper says, "we raised funding, services, and gifts in kind that totaled around $85,000." In addition to raising support and bringing attention to California's vast number of uninsured children, the run succeeded in rallying efforts from the many students, parents and school staff who turned out to cheer Harper on and show their appreciation.
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