Parents ‘blown away’ by support for first-ever Arvalee School 5k

MORE than 500 people pounded the streets of Omagh in the sweltering sunshine on Saturday for the first-ever 5k fun run and walk in aid of Arvalee School.

The event, organised by the ‘Friends of Arvalee’, was geared towards raising money to help bring extra resources to the school and saw over 530 people join in the fun, fitness and friendship.

‘Friends of Arvalee’ committee member, Melanie Bell, said, “It was absolutely amazing and we were all blown away by the support the event received.

“The turnout of people was unbelievable – we kept saying to each other, ‘How have we actually done this?’

“Arvalee truly was at the heart of the event and we are so thankful and grateful that the community got behind us.

“We did this for our kids, for the benefit of our wee boys and girls who deserve to have a place in this world.”

A delighted Melanie continued, “We put ourselves out there for the first time and it paid off.

“We proved we can do something.”

Praising every single person who played their part, she added, “It’s emotional, to be honest. We have raised well above what we thought we would, and we are all so thankful and appreciate every single person who helped to make the day a success.

This includes families and businesses who donated either money or raffle prizes, to Peter Dolan for lending his expertise and guidance, to the PSNI and volunteers who allowed the event to run as smoothly as possible and other running clubs who generously backed the event, and to Shane Pritchard for his outstanding job as compère.”