On Saturday, June 22, Save the Dunes hosted its annual Dunes Dash 5K and 1-mile kids run at West Beach. The Dunes Dash is one of Save the Dunes’ premier fundraising and educational events, with over 100 runners, walkers, and racers in attendance. This is the first year the event has been held at West Beach.
Save the Dunes is a non-profit organization that works hard to live up to its name.
“Our mission is to protect and advocate for the Indiana Dunes, Lake Michigan, and the surrounding natural areas,” Save the Dunes Executive Director Betsy Maher said. “We do that for the health of the environment and the people who live, work, and recreate in Northwest Indiana.”
The Dunes Dash is a long-standing fundraising event for Save the Dunes. Following a hiatus last year, Maher is excited to bring the Dunes Dash back bigger and better than ever.
“We took a one-year hiatus last year and looked at how we could improve the Dunes Dash and help it reach more people,” Maher said. “We’re really thrilled to be partnering with Indiana Dunes National Park at our new location: West Beach, which provides the ideal backdrop for people to experience the Dunes and run along the beaches, all for the cause of saving them.”
On top of partnering with the Indiana Dunes National Park, Save the Dunes also received a bevy of sponsorships from local and national groups that who believe in protecting Northwest Indiana’s unique ecology. Sponsors for this year’s Dune Dash include the Porter County Community Foundation, Cleveland-Cliffs, the Michigan City Sustainability Commission, and UnitedHealthcare, among others.
“At UnitedHealthcare, we recognize the important connection between a healthy environment and the well-being of our members and all consumers in Indiana and across the country,” said Michael Telesky, Vice President of Sales for UnitedHealthcare of Illinois and Northwest Indiana. “We are committed to supporting local organizations that share our dedication to fostering whole-person well-being, which includes an emphasis on addressing social drivers of health that can significantly influence health outcomes and costs.”
The sponsorships continue a trend of community support for Save the Dunes and its mission over the past few years.
“In recent years, it feels like the community has rallied behind Save the Dunes in big ways,” said Maher. “There are a lot of threats that we have to deal with every day to keep this area protected, and that is something that the entire community of Northwest Indiana, particularly those who live, work, and recreate close to the Dunes, know and appreciate.”
In addition to getting to experience the Dunes during the Dune Dash, participants also had the opportunity to learn more about the small ways organizations like Save the Dunes help fight issues plaguing the Dunes. This includes using minimally invasive signage and sticking to pre-defined trails to keep the human impact on the Dunes to a minimum.
“We share tips with race runners about, for example, how they can make sure they are not disturbing any of the vegetation that is critical to stabilizing the Dunes,” Maher said. “We hope the race not only provides a fun, family-friendly experience in the park, but can also help people who participate learn about the importance of staying on designated paths, which has been a core message of our organization for decades.”
At the end of the race, instead of a finisher medal, racers were awarded a reusable water bottle that could help them begin lowering their impact on the natural environment of Northwest Indiana.
For more information on Save the Dunes or to become involved, visit savedunes.org.
For more information on UnitedHealthcare, visit uhc.com.
