DAVENPORT, Iowa — We are one weekend out from the St. Patrick's Day celebration in the Quad Cities and a big part of that day is the Center for Active Seniors St. Patrick's Day Race. That's why this month we put the spotlight on the organization behind it.
Whether you're running to win or just running for fun, everyone in the CASI St. Patrick's Day Race is helping support the older men and women in our community.
"Seniors represent one of the fastest-growing age demographics with the baby boomers landing on our doorstep. We call it the silver tsunami," says CASI President Laura Kopp.
Kopp ensures there's a place for that wave of people in our community. It's called the Center for Active Seniors, or CASI.
"Most people think of a senior center as a couple of card tables with bingo and maybe a meal a week, and CASI is so much more than that," says Kopp.
Every year CASI serves 5,000 people in the Quad Cities, offering more than 8,000 activities, meals, and supportive services all under one roof. CASI depends on fundraisers like the St. Patrick's Day Race to continue its mission.
"As we've seen over the last couple of years, our funding for senior services continues to be impacted and continues to decrease. So fundraising like the St. Patrick's Day race is that much more important. The race is a way for us to demonstrate how people can stay active, remain engaged in their community, but also help people connect a little with our mission and help us raise money to provide those services to our community," says Kopp.
It's one community, thousands of participants running together for one goal.
New this year, there will be an after-party hosted at the River Music Experience directly following the 5K race at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 14, 2020.
Necker's Jewelers is a sponsor of this content.