Local nonprofits receive outpouring of support: Area residents turn out for Frisco events

Three Frisco nonprofits have seen residents open their hearts -- and their checkbooks -- to support their causes in recent weeks.

The annual Gary Burns Fun Run, which took place Oct. 27, led the way with a substantial community turnout of thousands of participants.

Allison Miller, director of the Frisco Education Foundation, said the event had about 6,000 participants, including runners, walkers, volunteers and spectators.

"We're very pleased with the turnout," she said. "We couldn't have asked for a better morning -- the weather was cold, but it was good for runners. The support the community, students and staff have given us is overwhelming."

Miller said this year's event saw about a thousand more participants than last year's event. Additionally, the foundation projects to raise about $75,000 from the event, although it's still waiting on all the income from the event to come in, such as online registration fees.

That money will go toward the Frisco Education Foundation's goal of providing scholarships to graduating Frisco ISD seniors as well as grants to teachers.

"Last year's race enabled us to award $200,000 in scholarships and $65,000 in grants, and this year we're looking to do the same," Miller said. "This is our only foundation-sponsored event since we're no longer hosting our Chili Challenge event, so we're looking to make it even bigger and better next year and in coming years."

Another event that took place Oct. 27, the Frisco Heritage Center's Shawnee Trail Cowboy Day, also saw strong community support, with more than 500 attendees.

Rick Fletcher, a Heritage Association board member, said the event's turnout was strong in the face of competition from other events scheduled at the same time.

"We were pleased to hear how much our attendees enjoyed the festival and their commitment to return next year," he said. "There were so many other events that we were competing with that day, but we're pleased that younger families are starting to discover Heritage Village and our many buildings and exhibits on display."

Fletcher said that new attractions will be added next year based on input from event goers, such as Native American exhibits and attractions to go along with the event's current cowboy theme.

Next year's event is currently being planned to expand to a full fall festival, Fletcher said, which would allow the Heritage Center to provide more attractions.

"If we play our cards right, we think next year's event will be a great way to fund the Heritage Association's growing needs, such as building the miniature train track that would connect to the Museum of the American Railroad," he said.

In addition to last week's events, TeamConnor's Color Me Green 5K and Caterpillar Dash on Oct. 6 raised more than $23,000 for childhood cancer research.

Shay Allen, communications coordinator for TeamConnor, said the organization thinks the event -- its first 5K -- went so well it expects to continue to grow in the coming years.

"Our community is always very supportive -- we had an excellent turnout for this event and expect an even larger turnout next year," she said. "When people learn about our cause, they want to help these kids and their future."

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