The Hawk

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: News

Participants ran to raise money for domestic abuse awareness.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, Saint Joseph's hosted the second annual Kristin's Krusade run/walk in memory of Kristin Mitchell, who was tragically murdered by her boyfriend in Conshohocken only weeks after graduating from the University in 2005.

Laura Teevan and Stephanie Groeber, close friends who graduated alongside Kristin, established the first walk last year. The 5k run is part of the Kristin Mitchell Foundation, established to raise money in order to educate others on the danger and prevention of domestic violence. By working with athletic directors Kevin Quinn and Al Pendleton, Teevan and Groeber were able to institute the run at Saint. Joseph's.

Commencing at 9:30 a.m. on Finnesey Field, the run circled the track before looping the University campus and returning to the field from City Avenue. A post-race raffle raised funds by selling chances to win sponsor-donated items. These included a St. Joe's sweatshirt, a spa gift certificate, and an autographed Eagles poster.

Kris Gucha came in first place with a time of 19:59 and Marissa Barriera was the fastest women's runner with a time of 22:07. Both were friends of Kristin's.

Going into the race the Foundation had already raised between $8000-9000 from fund-raisers and donations. In addition, Verizon Wireless donated $3000 from collected cell phones used for their domestic abuse hotline, Hopeline. The total funds raised from registration costs has not yet been calculated.

It was obvious that public support had grown since last year. More than 200 participants registered for Sundays race, over 50 more than last year. Channel 10 News was also present to publicize the event.

Kristin's parents, David and Michele, were overwhelmed by the community support.

"Everyone mourns, but the most important thing is to keep Kristin's memory alive in a positive way. She would have wanted us to help others," said Michele.

Teevan, who had been close with Mitchell all four years of college, felt her friend's death to be an eye-opening experience.

"Keeping her memory alive by educating others has helped me to cope," said Teevan.

Groeber, who struggled with the publicity of her friend's death, wants others to have the tools to be able to recognize when friends are in trouble.

"Although St. Joe's has rape and abuse prevention groups, I didn't know how to recognize any of the warning signs," said Groeber. " We want to create that awareness that I had lacked."

Continued...

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