Charitable Vibes

The most colorful 5K out there returns to Fayetteville on Saturday for a race in which runners can tie dye more than just their shirts. The Color Vibe 5K is a race where participants get "color blasted" with bursts of yellow, pink, blue, purple and green non-toxic clouds of beautiful powder. No timing chips makes the race all about the fun of running through rainbow clouds, but the event is also about helping the community. This year's Color Vibe is partnering with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to donate a portion of the profits to the foundation's Northwest Arkansas chapter.

"We're honored to be [the Color Vibe's] charity partner," says Lauren Sivewright, the senior development coordinator of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter. "The money raised at the event all stays here local and supports our summer camp for local families. Type 1 Diabetes is a very expensive disease to live with, and some of these families rely on the support they get from camp."

This is the second year the JDRF will partner with the Color Vibe to raise money for the summer camp. Local volunteer Bryan Tucker (whose family received the JDRF Volunteer Family of the Year award last year) says he is looking forward to helping out at the race with his son, Brody.

"It's a fun, exciting, ridiculous race," Tucker says with a laugh. Brody was diagnosed with Type 1 at a young age, but he loves helping at events like this, he adds. The two will be handing out water to the runners on Saturday morning.

"I love being just a very small part of this community and doing what I can to help. When it comes down to it, [everything the organization does] is really just to make all of these kids comfortable. They all live with a disease that cannot be cured. They just want to feel like they belong and it's our responsibility to do everything we can for them."

-- JOCELYN MURPHY

JMURPHY@NWADG.COM

NAN What's Up on 05/06/2016