The Beach served as the starting line for 200 students showing support for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings by participating in a group run around the Homewood campus at 5 p.m. today.
The event raised money for the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston Children's Hospital Boston Marathon Relief Fund and the American Red Cross. About $250 dollars in cash, not including J-Cash contributions, was raised for the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Participants signed a banner that read “Hopkins stands with Boston” at the end of the three-mile run to send to the Children’s Hospital.
Three members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity organized the event. Junior Alex Skelton conceived of the idea Tuesday in order to gather the Hopkins community and also honor the victims, participants and spectators of the Boston Marathon.
Skelton, sophomore Aryel Abramovitz and junior Tyler Barnum, all members of Beta, were the main organizers. The Inter-Fraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Student Government Association and Beta Theta Pi all hosted the event.
“A lot of organizations were willing to come out and help,” Skelton said. “They were excited about it too.”
“There was a pretty big turnout,” he said. “A lot of people donated, and there were also a bunch of people on the course to direct runners and cheer.”
Sophomore Lindsay Caldarone, a Boston native who participated in the run, was pleased that such an event took place on campus.
“I had been looking for a way to show support for my hometown, and having a run for Boston seemed like such a great way to commemorate the marathon,” Caldarone said. “I thought it was really cool to see how many people showed up and how supportive everyone was of each other and of the cause.”
