EAST LANSING - On April 17 MSU’s Safe Place will host its largest fundraiser of the year called the "Race for the Place".

“Race for the place is one of our biggest fundraisers, and basically it’s just a really fun family event,” Volunteer and Advocacy Coordinator Alyssa Baumann said.

The race will take place on MSU’s campus and will be based at the Jenison Field House.

“We have a 5k run and walk, so basically people of all abilities are able to come out and you know, have a great time,” Baumann said.

There will also be free events for kids including a 100 meter dash and a 5k fun run for kids under the age of 12.

MSU Safe Place is the relationship violence and stalking program on MSU’s campus. The Safe Place serves the campus community and the Greater Lansing community.

“We offer support to survivors of domestic violence and stalking including advocacy, shelter, support groups, child care, counseling- basically anything that people need when they’re dealing with these types of situations,” Baumann said.

Race for the Place is one of Safe Place's largest annual fundraisers, and it has been going on for 22 years.

“Basically they help us to maintain our programming, so to help us continue to provide advocacy services and support services to survivors, so they’re really crucial to us continuing the services that we’re doing,” Baumann said.

The Race for the Place has teamed up with Playmakers and the Greater Lansing Race Series on the event, so the 5k with

“The Greater Lansing Race Series is a partnership of local races that Playmakers brought together in 2001," Playmakers' Marketing Coordinator Andy Walsh said.

“This year there are 13 races on the race series and if a participant does six of them, they will get a free Greater Lansing Race Series shirt from Playmakers and if they do 11 out of the 13 races they will get a Bread of the Month Club from Great Harvest Breads in Okemos and Delta Township,” Walsh said.


“It’s just a really fun event, we have a lot of families who come out. We do have a special group rate, so for groups of four there’s a pretty significant discount, so we always encourage people to come out with three of their family members or friends to join them in just having a fun day,” Baumann said.