The community was offered an opportunity to run, walk and raise money to support the Kelli Joy Memorial Foundation, an organization that supports numerous charities and gives scholarships to LT students.

“It’s a lot of work, but it keeps my wife and I involved with the community while remembering our daughter Kelli,” said John O’Laughlin, the father of Kelli Joy O’Laughlin ‘15 and the leader of the Kelli Joy Memorial Foundation.

On Oct.27, 2011, the life of Kelli was taken away by a man who was burglarizing her home when she walked in on him. Ever since her death, the community has remembered and supported her by the help of the Kelli Joy Memorial Foundation, which is a foundation commemorating Kelli through various contributions.

The foundation is run by John and his wife Brenda O’Laughlin and four other committee members. The foundation also started the annual “Run for Kelli,” where hundreds of community members, friends and family participate to support the foundation morally and economically, which was held on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Several students from LTHS gave their support to the cause by either running or walking. Joie Reisch ‘18 emphasized her care for participating in the one mile walk, another part of the “Run for Kelli”.

“I wanted to support Kelli’s family, friends and the fundraiser,” Reisch said. “I really got to see how much Kelli meant to all of the people who attended the walk or run. The race kept her remembrance strong.”

Thanks to people like Reisch who were involved in the race, the foundation’s fundraiser is now 93 percent complete, with a total profit of $23,372. This money was contributed by the participants in the 5k run and one mile walk, and people of the community who wanted to support the cause.

The runners ran on the LTHS cross country course at the South Campus practice fields. Refreshments were given after the race in the field house.  The run began at 9:00 a.m., and a great number of people showed up to run or support it, Reisch said.

“The goal of this run is to succeed in raising money and support,” John said. “If we do that, we accomplished our goal.”