Despite frigid temperatures of late, the weather looks promising for Monroe County startUP’s Reindeer Run 5K fundraiser set for this Saturday. 

Henry Dillenberger and Hope Schwartz, two of this year’s startUP students, offered a rundown of the event.

Taking place at Life Community Church in Columbia, the run begins at 8:15 a.m., though attendees will be able to enjoy a number of other attractions as well.

Folks can expect to get some pictures with Santa, enjoy s’mores at bonfires set up around the church’s lot and get more refreshments from a pair of food trucks: Gelu St. Lou offering Italian Ice and Donut Den providing baked goods as well as hot chocolate and coffee.

The event will also feature auction baskets ranging in value from roughly $75-300.

Race winners will also be recognized with medals.

Those looking to sign up can do so online via a link on the Monroe County startUP Facebook page. In-person registration will also be open from 7:30-8:15 a.m. the day of the event as well as during bag pickup this Friday at Life Community Church from 3-5 p.m.

Dillenberger said the class was originally considering a Glo Golf tournament for its fundraiser, looking to turn last year’s event into something of a tradition, though the focus ultimately landed on the Reindeer Run given the popularity of such events.

He also spoke about the effort poured into this event over the past few weeks, emphasizing how everything has had to come together quickly.

Dillenberger particularly mentioned how the group found themselves quickly reaching out to the city the day the project was decided on in order to work out road closures and other matters for the race route.

“A lot of hours of dedication. We spent a lot of time mainly just reaching out and trying to get in contact with a lot of people,” Dillenberger said. “Our biggest obstacle was trying to make sure we could be approved by the city.”

He noted the project has been largely organized since early December, though some important touches have come together more recently – particularly the addition of Gelu St. Lou.

Schwartz, who serves as the class CEO, spoke about how the work has gotten done largely because of everyone taking on their own responsibilities, though help from the community has also been vital.

“We’ve broken up into different groups, which definitely helped a lot,” Schwartz said. “We’ve had our food group, people who have worked on the runner registration, and everybody’s kinda just doing their own part with the sponsorships. The community’s been a huge help to us.”

She pointed to City of Columbia Community Relations Coordinator Marla Rose as well as Life Community Church Pastor Jamey Bridges for the assistance they’ve provided.

Schwartz further voiced appreciation for the many organizations and businesses that have shown direct support for the project, either serving as sponsors or offering gift cards to contribute to auction baskets.

“Waterloo, Columbia and people in the community, they’re all so willing to help,” Schwartz said. “Almost every business that we have asked responded in a very positive way, was very willing to help, was really interested in our class. I think that was the really cool thing for me, just seeing how everybody wants to help and how everybody wants to see this class succeed.”

With nearly half a year under their belts, Schwartz and Dillenberger also spoke about their experiences in Monroe County startUP so far.

Dillenberger said he found himself drawn to the class given his existing car detailing business. He’d heard about startUP earlier in his high school career, and he’d also been acquainted with it thanks to his time with the Waterloo Optimist Club and his father’s connections with startUP board members.

Regarding his own business, he spoke about already getting some important advice from one of the class’s guest speakers as he’s found himself hesitant to expand the business and potentially run into quality control issues by bringing in others to do the detailing.

“Sacrificing that quality for at least a short amount of time may be needed in order to grow,” Dillenberger said. “If you’re continuing to do this detailing as a one-person thing where you’re handling marketing, the job, going to the jobs, making sure you’re maintaining customer relations, if you’re doing all of that, you’re limited to how far you can grow.”

Schwartz said she’d likewise known about the startUP program for some time. Uncertain of what exactly she wants to do going into college, she’d heard the class has, for many people, helped solidify their goals.

Regarding progress at this point in the year, she primarily discussed how the class has provided her and her peers a greater sense of confidence in their communication skills.

“It’s just such an amazing class,” Schwartz said. “It’s helped me so much become comfortable talking to people, talking to businesses, growing my communication skills in general. And you can see that throughout the entire class. At the beginning of the year, everybody was a little bit more shy, nervous, but now everybody is so willing to step up, do whatever it takes.”