Move over charity 5Ks - Aurora school's 'Unrun' raising money for scholarship

The charity 5K has become the classic fundraiser during the past two decades or so in the suburbs.

Chart a route, order some T-shirts, charge a registration fee and, bam! - in one day, the event is over and the money's raised.

But after 18 years hosting its own charity 5K to support a scholarship, Rosary High School in Aurora found every good thing comes to an end.

Enter the "Unrun."

The private Catholic school for girls is in the midst of its first fundraiser specifically built around not running.

Until Friday, June 28, participants can register for a donation of $25 or more - just as they would for a typical 5K - to join the "race" to post funny pictures of how they're supporting their school by not running. To register, visit rosaryhs.com and click on the Unrun icon on the right.

"The fun thing is, 'What would you do if you weren't running?'" said Debbie Olson, a Rosary alumna from the class of 1970, who came up with the Unrun idea.

"Somewhere, somehow, I had heard of it before," she said. "I couldn't tell you where."

For Rosary, the Unrun has become a fresh way to support the Sister Mary Joseph Scholarship.

The scholarship awards $2,000 a year to a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior student, each of whom is the daughter of an alumna who placed highest on the school's entrance exam, said Sandra Galindo, director of alumnae relations and special events. That means each year, the school needs to raise $8,000 to provide the funding to each of the four recipients.

Galindo said for nearly the past two decades, the 5K was the only fundraiser for the scholarship, and it drew a pool of between 100 and 150 runners. But this year, Galindo and Olson said, things were different. The company that printed and donated T-shirts closed shop. The usual race date had to be changed. Costs were increasing and participation had been dwindling as the ever-present charity 5K became too common for its own good.

"Every year, more and more (groups) are putting out 5Ks for their area, and it's diluted how many people truly can run a race in a weekend," Olson said. "I've heard from other groups that their 5Ks are not as successful."

The Unrun, however, is off to a solid start, school officials say, with more than 50 percent of the goal raised in the campaign that ends June 28.

Galdindo said the school has been posting Unrun pictures on its website and its alumnae association Facebook page, and alumnae have been tagging their classmates to join in.

"You don't have to be in the same place," Galindo said. "That's part of the beauty of it."

Galindo's favorite Unrun photo so far shows an alumnae lounging on her boat on a lake - the epitome of summer relaxation instead of the peak of midrace sweat.

One participant's photo caption said she was "too chicken to run." Another said she'd rather be on a golf course. Olson sent in a picture of her granddaughter, face covered in magic marker, saying instead of running, she was "helping my granddaughter with her makeup."

"My running days never were," Olson said.

The event concludes next Friday, as Rosary wraps up its fiscal year. With the Unrun reaction positive so far, Galindo said it's likely the event could make a repeat appearance in the future.