Race enthusiasts are set to demonstrate one of the many safe alternatives to drinking and driving.
Christina Fitch, Warren County Victim Impact Panel coordinator, said walkers participating in the VIP annual 5K will depart from the Warren County Courthouse at 10 a.m. sharp on Saturday, Sept. 22. Runners will then start at 10:15 a.m.
Organizers have also arranged for the moving memorial for DUI victims to be on hand. It is a replica of the Memorial Garden in Harrisburg, Fitch said, which has bricks inscribed with the names of victims to honor them.
The City of Warren will also have a fire truck and ambulance present, Fitch said, and there will be a car from the Warren County Sheriff's Department. One of the event's goals is to raise awareness.
"I think people will be shocked at the number of DUI fatalities each year when they see all the names on the moving memorial," Fitch said.
Around 100 race participants are expected. There are different brackets, Fitch said, which include a kid's race, youth, adult male and adult female.
Usually, Fitch said, people who compete in other 5k races also take part in the VIP one. Now in its fourth year, the event was started to raise funds as well as awareness.
Money helps to provide scholarships for Warren County students. To be considered, Fitch said students are asked to submit essays.
"The students are also supposed to be drug and alcohol free," Fitch said. "Obviously, there's not always a way to know if they're true to that."
Another project the panel wants to fund is a Warren County memorial for victims. It would be a bench with inscribed bricks underneath, Fitch said, similar to the one in Harrisburg.