St. Joseph Hospital's Commit to Community: 5K Walk, 5K Run, 10K Run and Kids Obstacle Course

Our Commit to Community, Supporting Victims of Violence and Abuse takes place in September and includes the Kids Obstacle Course, 5K Walk, 5K Run, and 10K Run. All money raised through this event funds the St. Joseph Hospital's Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) program. Every participant, every donor, and every sponsor will be helping people in eastern Maine who require help from the hospital's SAFE nurses.

Refunds after August 5, 2024 will not be granted. Please contact the St. Joseph Foundation at 207-907-1740 or via email foundation@sjhhealth.com for further information. 

Sponsors are incredibly important for the Commit to Community event. Sponsorship funds go directly to help support the SAFE program.

The St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation will recognize sponsors proudly for their support in a myriad of ways over a period of the year and, of course, on race day.

To become a sponsor, please connect with Brad Coffey at brad_coffey@covenanthealth.net or 207-907-3199.

We invite you to bring a blanket or lawn chair and join us in Broadway Park after the event for our awards ceremony and pick up a snack at the finish line or visit one of the food trucks for something more!

Our Commit to Community backdrop will be on display for great photo opportunities for ALL.

1st place awards will be given out to the 5K and 10K winners for the following age brackets. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place overall winners will also receive awards for male, female and transgender/non-binary. 

Each age group is broken down into three gender groups: female, male, and transgender/non-binary.  

11-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-and over

Awards are also given out to first, second, and third place overall 5K run and 10K run winners for male, female, and transgender/non-binary categories. 

The Commit to Community course was designed by Race Director Brad Ryder, former Bangor High and Bates College runner Gabriel Coffey, and Sub5 member Dave Farrar. It is a combination of city streets and roads, and gravel and dirt trails. While those pushing strollers are welcomed, they should know that the trail itself can be rough in patches and the roads do have some long uphill stretches. Click on the PDF to view and print both the 5K and 10K maps. 

Sub5, the local running club, includes the 10K portion of the event in their Maine Savings Sub5 Track Club Road Race Series. Both the 5K and 10K Runs are timed by Brewer Timing Services.

The SAFE nurses don't just care for sexual assault victims.  Elder abuse, domestic assault/abuse, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and human trafficking victims will be seen by SAFE nurses if they seek help at St. Joseph Hospital.  Regardless of what religion a person practices, if you or someone you know falls into one of these categories, the St. Joseph SAFE nurses will care for you.

If you are a victim in any way, please seek help in the ER at St. Joseph Hospital or call 207-907-3000

If you need assistance but are not ready to go to the hospital, please consider reaching out to one of these local programs:

Partners for Peace 24-hour helpline: 1-800-863-9909/1800-437-1220(TTY)

https://www.partnersforpeaceme.org/

Rape Response Services 24-hour helpline: 1-800-871-7741

https://www.rrsonline.org/

Penobscot Nation DV/SA Advocacy Center 24/7 Support Line 207.631.4886

The SAFE program reaches further than our St. Joseph emergency room, it spans far and wide. Many local and county organizations benefit from the combined tenure of 28 years of forensic nursing practice that we have in the hospital.  

Hospital Emergency Care

The primary roles that they provide are: medical forensic exams, consultations for victims of sexual assault, elder abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, dependent adult abuse, and human trafficking.

Education and Training:

The St. Joseph Healthcare SAFE nurses conducted over 100 hours of education for various community organizations such as The Alpha program at Brewer High School, various law enforcement agencies such as Penobscot County Sheriff's Office, various EMS agencies such as University of Maine Volunteer Ambulance Crews, Husson and UMaine Nursing student, EMCC Criminal Justice students, Rape Response and Partners for Peace advocates, each of our multidisciplinary teams such as the Domestic Violence Taskforce and the Child Advocacy Center, State of Maine Elder Abuse Summit, and the Wabanaki Women's Coalition Tribal Summit. To name a few.

Outreach:

Tabling at area events such as Bangor Pride, Human Trafficking Not Here conference at Bangor Advent Christian Church and It’s Happening Right Here event at Bangor Church of Nazarene, participation on the State of Maine SAFE Advisory Board and being a key member of a planning committee to create a domestic violence course for health care providers in Maine.

St. Joseph Healthcare SAFE nurses continue to be present and active on all multi-disciplinary teams including the Penobscot & Piscataquis Counties Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), Sex & Labor Trafficking Action Response Team (START), and Child Advocacy Centers, the Penobscot County Domestic Violence Taskforce (DVTF) and the Washington-Hancock SART.

Here are some important figures:

• Over the last three years alone, the Commit has raised $643,000 for the SAFE program.

• Since its inception in 2019, the Commit has raised $1,069,000 for the SAFE program.

• This year there were 66 sponsors who contributed $197,415.

• This was far and away the largest event in terms of participation. 151 volunteers signed up, and 862 registrants signed up – for a whopping 1,013 total participants. 

Listen and watch several St. Joe's SAFE nurses talk about the importance of the program.