The Rev.
Ragan Schriver is handed a miniature basketball from 8-year-old Matthew McCuskier on Sunday inside the All Saints Catholic Church gymnasium. The rain might have kept some people away Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to prevent an estimated 800 others from getting wet as they raised more than $50,000 for Catholic Charities’ Columbus Home Children’s Services, officials said. The Catholic charity had hoped for a record turnout of more than 1,200 at its 11th annual Kids Helping Kids Walk at All Saints Catholic Church on Cedar Bluff Road but ended up falling about 400 short of that goal, said Catholic Charities spokeswoman Freddi Birdwell. “It was a gullywasher,” Birdwell said. “The walk happened in the rain.” Perhaps 500 people from the crowd actually took part in the 1 1/2-mile walk, and they did their best to keep a good sense of humor as the downpour fell on them, she said. “It was refreshing,” Birdwell said with a laugh. The money raised will go to Columbus Home, a group home for boys with troubled backgrounds, as well as an emergency shelter for children, that also offers in-home services, explained Executive Director of Catholic Charities the Rev. Ragan Schriver. The programs help about 1,800 children each year.
“All the boys from Columbus Home came to the walk,” Schriver said. “They were just terrific. They ran most of the walk – they were pretty fired up.”