South Street Youth Center Holds Socially Distanced 5K

The South Street Youth Center held its third annual Family Fun Run Run on October 3, though this year it was a socially distanced “Family Mindfulness 5K Walk,”  South Street Youth Center’s Program Coordinator Corey Stallings said.

     South Street Youth Center, located at 17 St. Rose St. Rear, has a mission of providing “a safe, educational, and engaging space during out-of-school time for young residents of the South Street Development,” according to its website. Stallings said that there are about 65 young people who are involved with the organization.

     Stallings said that South Street Youth Center has “been doing a lot of work with the Olmsted 2022 foundation,” he said, and “trying to preserve the land over there,” referring to Hellenic Hill, where condos were proposed to be built.

     “It is a phenomenal event,” Stallings said of the run/walk. South Street Youth Center partnered with other organizations, and had more than 100 runners for the first two years.

     This year, due to COVID-19, things looked a little different than usual.

     “I was so scared because we were trying to pull something off during a pandemic,” Stallings said. “How can we do it safely? Who’s going to show up?”

     He said that 85 participants came this summer, and the organization “made sure every single group was completely distant,” he said. Everyone wore masks, and masks were also distributed for free by South Street Youth Center

     “I was nervous about it,” he said, “but we pulled it off.”

     He also said that the Boston Housing Authority “came through and really helped us to get it going in terms of money and support.”

     Stallings also thanked neighbors for their generous support to the organization over the years and especially this year. He said that more than $21,000 has been raised so far.

     “Because of COVID, people aren’t really donating anymore,” he said. “We had to be creative to do something safely to try to raise money. We don’t get state or federal funding.”

     With those restrictions,  any money for the organization has to be raised themselves or donated from generous community members and businesses.

            “It takes neighbors like that and companies that want to try to give back so we can flourish another 25 years,” he said.

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