Each year, communities across the country gather together to run for a good cause in the annual Human Race. No Human Race event is bigger or more popular than the Sonoma County Human Race, which collaboratively raises funds for several local nonprofits while offering the public a fun community outing that includes a 3K and 10K walk and run, a festival area called the Marketplace and a pancake breakfast.
Like other social gatherings, the Sonoma County Human Race was forced to cancel its in-person event last May due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the continued concern for the health and safety of the community, the Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL)–which hosts the event– has made the difficult decision not to hold the Sonoma County Human Race in 2021 either.
“Nonprofits that have raised funds over the course of the event’s history have had to learn new ways to meet their fundraising goals in 2020,” says Dawn Bell, Special Events Coordinator at CVNL, in a statement. “To help support them, CVNL will continue to share resources and develop training around online fundraising and virtual event production. We appreciate everything that nonprofits are doing: together we can help our communities stay safe, informed, and connected.”
After canceling 2020’s Human Race, CVNL quickly pivoted to a virtual format for its ongoing work in supporting nonprofits. For the past 10 months, CVNL has been working in the hope that the 2021 event would be the biggest and best in its 40-year history, though it needs help to do so. The public is invited to learn ho to volunteer time and donate funds to the center, and local nonprofits are encouraged to visit CVNL’s extensive resource library and check out it’s professional development workshops.
In addition to providing resources, training, and other services to support nonprofits in Sonoma County and beyond, CVNL is busy in the disaster recovery world. In Sonoma, Marin, Solano, and Napa Counties, CVNL operates Emergency Volunteer Centers, working with government and nonprofit agencies to gather and assess community needs on an ongoing basis when a disasters strike. Their role is to oversee and manage spontaneous volunteers and physical and monetary donations, distributing them to nonprofit agencies helping individuals directly affected.
CVNL’s current goal is to relaunch the Sonoma County Human Race in 2022 with a community of nonprofits, businesses, and individual fundraisers who will once again come together to run, walk, or roll in the popular and meaningful event.
