(Hear the Interview) Local Teens Helping the Malnourished in Haiti - Run The 5k on Saturday to Help S.A.V.E.

Jul 26, 2013 at 05:30 am by bryan


S.A.V.E. (Sustaining A Village Everyday) and St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital are hosting the 3rd annual "S.A.V.E. The Night 5K Fun Run" THIS Saturday night, July 27th.  The race will be at Gateway Island (1614 Wilkinson Pike, Murfreesboro, TN).  There will be a Monster's Inc. costume contest during the family oriented race! All money raised will help to fund programs for the malnourished in Haiti.

Tayllor Cochrane, the 18-Year old founder "S.A.V.E.," described to us what she saw on her two trips to Haiti... 

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The 5k "S.A.V.E. the Night Fun Run" will be at the Gateway Island on Saturday night at 8. You can register at 7pm. Visit https://www.facebook.com/TeenSAVE

Hear the entire interview and read more below: 

How Did S.A.V.E. Start?

In the early spring of 2011, Tayllor Cochrane (above photo) was inspired by an episode of 20/20 to raise $25,000 to feed a malnourished village for a year.  Tayllor held an interest meeting, in which Tony Allen, Brock Baker, Laura Bean, Mary Cate Ownby, and Shelby Hardison attended.  Representing 6 churches, 2 schools, and 2 grade levels, these 6 teenagers formed the nonprofit S.A.V.E.  Her mother, Kristi Cochrane, served as the adult director.  However, the group decided to shift their focus towards sustainability, starting with the village of Boukeron in the central plateau in Haiti.  Pastor Fred Wall, a permanent missionary in Haiti, served as a connection between Murfreesboro and Boukeron.  With this intent, S.A.V.E. set out to raise the money needed through various fundraisers, including a 24 Hour Famine lock-in, a letter campaign, a car wash, a "Be The Change" drive, business sponsorship's, a 5K, a Christmas Arts & Crafts Bizarre, and a worship concert. By the end of December, just 9 months since their first meeting, the teenagers had raised over $27,000. 

In 2012, as the older leaders graduated high school, new leaders were brought into S.A.V.E., including Madison Bivins, Jay Hicks, David Newman, Stephen Powlis, and Seth Waldecker.  Again, S.A.V.E. met it's goal by raising another $25,000.  In 2013, S.A.V.E. brought in Caroline Bass, Allie Brent, Brooke Connelly, Nicole Gardner, Rachel Soetje, and Madison Underwood as new leaders.  So far, S.A.V.E. has raised $15,000 in 2013, totaling over $67,000 since it's beginning two and a half years ago, and hopes to raise a lot more from the 5K at the end of the month. 

With this money raised, S.A.V.E. has been able to help the village of Boukeron get off its feet and toward the path of success.  In the heart of the central plateau, Boukeron is a rural village with a population of about 2,500.  Most villagers make around $150 a year, resulting in a lack of stability, shelter, health, and education.  As a result, this village barely hangs on from collapsing, a clear picture of why Haiti is now the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and characterized as a 4th world country, or a "least developed country."  In response, S.A.V.E. provided Boukeron with its first fresh water well, a solid-structured church, Bibles, 10 pairs of goats, latrines, cisterns, metal roofs, and seeds.  S.A.V.E. also established a school, so far teaching kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade.  S.A.V.E.'s future plans include building a sugarcane mill to increase production in the area, teaching more efficient methods in agriculture, and producing a solid economic system to increase overall wealth.  However, within all of these projects, S.A.V.E.'s main focus is to spread the love of Jesus to the Haitian people. 

How to Register:

Registration begins at 7PM, and the race proceeds at 8PM.   Night of Registration will be available for adults at $35, and for kids 9 and under $15.  100% of the money raised through registration will go toward their efforts of helping to create self-sustainability for the village of Boukeron in Haiti.  

Where Can You Learn More?

To learn more about S.A.V.E., you can visit www.facebook.com/TeenSAVE.  If you have any questions about the "S.A.V.E. The Night 5K Fun Run and Costume Contest", call Kristi Cochrane at (615) 848-8846 or email at: kristicochrane@me.com

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