L.O.V.E. 5K Celebrates Life & Community
What does it take, as a mother, to turn personal tragedy into an opportunity to change others’ lives for the better?
In early 2013, local mom Katrina Witschen and her husband Matt were thrilled to find out they were expecting identical twin girls. But their joy was soon dampened by the doctors’ discovery that, not only were the girls in danger because they were sharing one amniotic sac, one of their daughters had anencephaly, a serious birth defect that would prevent her from surviving more than a short time outside of the womb. The two girls were delivered at 32 weeks. Valencia, whose name means “healthy and strong,” was born just so and will celebrate her 4th birthday next month. Laurencia, whose name means “victory,” lived for just 15 minutes before passing victoriously into Heaven.
Laurencia’s death, it turns out, was not as much an end as it was a new beginning. In 2014 the Witschen family started a nonprofit called Laurencia’s Victory that honors her life and memory by providing support to orphaned children and adoptive families.
“We cherish every moment we had with Laurencia and the beauty she brought to our lives,” says Katrina. “In her memory, we believe many little lives could be impacted in beautiful ways. Laurencia doesn’t get to be here. We don’t get to hold her here. However, there are millions of children around the world longing to be held, to be wanted, to be loved, to have a family…And there is something we can do about that.” Since 2014, Laurencia’s Victory has provided grants to help several families be able to adopt, as well as grants to organizations who provide orphan care around the world.
Each year the family hosts the L.O.V.E. 5K Run & Walk in St. Michael to raise funds. The 2018 event is coming up on Saturday, August 18, and the whole community is invited to join in! It is a family-friendly event that, in addition to the 5K, includes kids races, a diaper derby, birthday cake, balloons, a bounce house, face painting, and a silent auction with some really cool items! The 5K takes place along the scenic river road in St. Michael and costs just $25 if you register by August 1. (Kids races are $5.)
Find out more about the event and register for the race itself at laurenciasvictory.org/love-5k-run. (They are also looking for sponsors and volunteers, so please check out those opportunities as well.)
Laurencia’s Victory: Website | Facebook
Images courtesy of Laurencia’s Victory