FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Students from the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are holding a 5K run/walk in Fort Recovery, Ohio, to raise funds to support orphaned children in Haiti. The 3nd Annual Formula for Life Scholarship Run on Sunday, March 5, at 2 p.m. gives high school seniors and full-time college students the opportunity to raise funds for an important cause and have a chance to win a scholarship to the college of their choice. All proceeds from the event will be donated to fund the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage in Haiti.

The Formula for Life 5K will begin at the Fort Recovery High School gymnasium. Runners and walkers are encouraged to pre-register at runreg.net but registration will also be available on the day of the event. Each race participant will vote for a high school senior or full-time college student. After the 5K, a drawing will be held to select the scholarship winner. The more participants each student brings to the event, the better the chances to win the scholarship drawing. One $1,000 award and two $500 awards will be given away, and the funds can be used for a variety of academic needs, including the purchase of supplies like textbooks or computers.

Formula for Life was created by USF graduate Cortney Shepard after a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2007 where she encountered newborns and infants in dire need of nutrition. Deeply moved by the experience, she began raising funds to send infant formula to Haiti, where even more children were in need. Her work gained momentum on the USF campus and evolved into a university-wide campaign, which was named Formula for Life.

In recent years, more USF students have traveled to Haiti to help this impoverished area of the world, including nursing student and Fort Recovery native Elle Schoenherr, who met a young Haitian girl named Michelle who had been found abandoned shortly after her birth. When she was found, Michelle was extremely malnourished, dehydrated and covered in insects. Her difficult start to life is still apparent through some developmental issues, but now, thanks to the efforts of Formula for Life, children like Michelle are receiving the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.

For more information about Formula for Life, visit F4L.sf.edu and like Formula for Life on Facebook.