No Surrender Running Club — Building meaningful and positive relationships with Grand Rapids youth one stride at a time.

[Grand Rapids, Michigan] – No Surrender Running Club is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that uses running and mentorship as tools to empower urban youth in the Grand Rapids community as they strive to achieve great things. The youth they serve live in the Garfield Park neighborhood.

Children and teens from this particular neighborhood face many struggles and difficulties in their everyday lives. For example, youth may lose family members to deportation or violence. 100% of youth participating in NSRC from this neighborhood come from families that are at or below the poverty line. In addition, this area has one of the highest crime rates in Grand Rapids. This neighborho od has very limited resources for youth outside of school and many attend schools without athletic programming.

Since 2010, the organization has worked with 35 kids, ages 10 to 18 each year, during designated spring and summer sessions; the club helps these children discover the joy (and work) involved with logging miles. And along the way, these young runners realize what they’re made of and what they can accomplish, all on their own when they put their minds to reaching a goal.

No Surrender Running Club | West Michigan

These young athletes run together and train for the following local races – the Huntington Reeds Lake 10K in the spring and the Lake Michigan Credit Union Bridge Run 10 mile race in the late summer.

Later this month, the NSRC will host their annual live auction and 2017 season kickoff. The event is their largest (and most fun!) fundraiser of the year and helps support NSRC’s mission by providing necessary items such as running shoes, race entries, and other rewards to our dedicated participants.

The event will be held at The Mitten Brewing Co. on Sunday, March 26th from 2pm-4pm. Free pizza and cash bar will be provided. This is a family friendly event that is open to all, so invite your friends and family and get ready for food, fun, and a little friendly competition during the live auction. All proceeds from this event go towards purchasing running shoes, running clothes, race entries, and rewards to our youth participants!