Scandinavian Relay: Race supports outreach ministry

The inaugural Scandinavian Relay will be a 33-mile race held Saturday, Jan. 27, beginning at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler K-12 School, located at 7066 Norway Road.

The starting line will be located in the back parking lot by the school’s football field. Spread across Orangeburg and Bamberg counties, the race will be divided into seven legs, which can be split between team members.

Organizer Laura Broussard said the annual event will support Three Crosses Outreach.

The outreach ministry has existed since 1999 and has sponsored free summer day camps and other services. It has been an integral part of the Norway community by also, for example, sponsoring community meals, a summer lunch program and mentoring children and families.

“One of the exciting things about the race is that people are coming from all over the state. So we’re really excited for people to come to our community and see all the great stuff that is going on in Orangeburg and Bamberg counties,” Broussard said. She’s a Norway native who is a former director of Three Crosses Outreach and now sits on its seven-member board.

Broussard said the idea of a race began with a friend of hers.

“I have done a lot of relay races through South Carolina, even through Virginia, and as we were doing it, one of my friends said, ‘We should do this through Norway. Everybody would love to come and run through Norway, to say they even ran through Norway,’” she said.

Broussard continued, “Some things changed in my life. I was able to have some more time. So I’ve taken it on. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of fun. It’s a 33-mile race. We do have some people who are doing it by themselves, and then … we have some teams that are just kind of novice runners who are doing it with seven people.”

“We are still looking for sponsors. If folks are not interested in running, but if their business wants to be a sponsor or make a donation, they can do that as well,” she said.

Broussard said the legs of the race are, “anywhere from three miles to the longest, which I think is seven miles and everything in between.”

“The teams will choose amongst themselves what legs they want to do. We’re starting at H-K-T School in Norway and the finish line will be at the Three Crosses building at 231 Lexington Ave. in Norway,” Broussard said.

Three Crosses currently has four young men enrolled in one-one-one mentoring with its director, the Rev. Eddie Lee. The ministry seeks to expand its mentoring program.

“We are nonprofit organization. Proceeds we receive are tax deductible, but they are also utilized to go into helping us fulfill the mission of Three Crosses, which is to better the lifestyle of as many families as we can,” Lee said.

Three Crosses also wants to be able to serve more children with its summer camp in 2024, as well as establish a parent-teacher organization at H-K-T school.

“The past PTO organization for whatever reason dissolved. We are trying our best (to build that back) because we believe it’s for the best interests of the students to have that parent-teacher organization that’s working together,” Lee said.

“We are reaching out to the community, to individuals who are children-first thinkers, but at the same time thoughtful of educators because we know the challenge they face in the classroom today,” he said.

Lee said part of Three Crosses’ mission is to ensure positive youth development.

“We hope that what they see in us helping them to transform their lives will inspire them to give back later on in their life when they are able. We want it to be a continuation. We don’t want that to ever stop,” he said.

Registration for the inaugural race will run through Sunday, Dec. 31. The cost is $110 for an individual or two-person team and $275 for a three- to seven-member team. Individuals can register to race or volunteer at the Three Crosses website at https://3co.org. Information can also be found on the Three Crosses Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/1789462471505165.

For more information, contact Broussard by phone at 843-340-7574 or email at lbroussard05@gmail.com. Lee can be contacted for more information about Three Crosses by phone at 704-957-4679.