Idaho State University employees raised more than $28,500 for student scholarships Saturday morning at the inaugural Kevin’s Run For Funds.
Nearly 300 employees and their family members joined Idaho State President Kevin Satterlee on a 5K course through Pocatello’s campus. Satterlee said the idea for a fun run fundraiser came to him when he started running for health and stress relief last year during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Out of the pandemic, I created hope for myself,” Satterlee said. “As I reflected on this accomplishment, I wanted to continue the positivity, and I want to share that hope for the future of our students.”
Before the event, Satterlee issued a challenge— for every employee who beat him, he would personally donate $10. Fifty-seven people beat him, but Satterlee opted to round up his donation to $1,000. Debbie Ronneburg, interim dean of the College of Technology, and Darin Jernagin, interim associate dean, also personally donated additional money to encourage their employees to participate.
In addition to funds raised through event registration and President Satterlee’s donation, Lookout Credit Union and the Portneuf Health Trust also donated $10,000 each to the fund.
Satterlee plans to make the Run For Funds event an annual Idaho State tradition.
“This will become a tradition that will bring together our campus community to celebrate each other, and in the process, help more students gain access to higher education. We need to stay focused on the needs of our students, and help them to achieve their dreams of an education,” Satterlee said.
