"The Mitchell community came together recently to raise funds for the disabled in the Run for Holland, a popular annual event.
Event organizers Brooke and Adam Burleson named the race after their daughter, Holland.
“We started the Run for Holland 13 years ago, the year after our daughter Holland was born,” Adam Burleson said. “We started the race just because we didn’t know what it was going to be like to have a child born with a disability.”
Now, Holland is at the race that bears her name every year.
“Holland was diagnosed with Down syndrome before she was born,” Burleson said. “Because we wanted other families to have resources, to have connections, we started the race. And since then we’ve really developed more into, we want people who aren’t familiar with disabilities to come be around families with disabilities.”
In addition to those running under their own power, the race featured" "volunteers pushing disabled participants in wheelchairs.
“We want to honor them and honor their families,” Burleson said.
The race funds are given out as grants to projects that help the disabled.
“To date, through sponsorships and people being involved with the race, we’ve given out $160,000, around $165,000 in grants to the local community,” Burleson said. “That’s mostly the school system … any programs, camps, around here that help people with disabilities — that’s why we do what we do.”
