A crowd of 130 competitors and supporters gathered at Peace Park to participate in the first 5k/10k Race to Action for the nonprofit Rehab A. El-Buri Foundation. Runners began the race at Peace Park, traveled down Elm Street and took the MKT trail back to the finish line.
Genevieve Raume, Shannon Doerr and Sheela Lal, of The Maneater staff, won the 5k female division; Zach Crane, Safwan Hyder and Mohammed Khennissi won the male division. Sara Harrier and Aamer Trambu won the 10k race.
Friends and family created the nonprofit shortly after Rehab A. El-Buri’s death in March 2011 at the age of 26, in an effort to keep her memory alive and her altruistic endeavors in motion, according to Arwa Mohammed, one creator of the foundation.
El-Buri, a MU School of Journalism alumna and former member of the ABC News investigative unit in New York City, worked diligently in the community to inspire those around her to follow a righteous path, Mohammed said.
Mohammed said she believed the outpour from the community is proof of the vast array of people El-Buri touched during her time on earth.
“She was a really inspiring figure,” Mohammed said. “I know that’s a word that can be used a lot but it’s true. After she passed away, her family was overwhelmed with the support given by everyone she had touched in her life.”
The Rehab A. El-Buri Foundation aims to raise awareness for melanoma research, which is an incurable disease that claims the lives of 8,000 Americans each year according to Center for Disease Control reports. Local projects are funded by the foundation that factor into keeping the community close-knit through gestures of activism or simply giving your neighbor a helping hand. Mohammed said El-Buri’s mission as a journalist was to give a voice to people who would have otherwise been left unheard without her.
A yearly scholarship has been created for students interested in pursuing the type of work and projects to which El-Buri committed her life. The first $5,000 scholarship will be awarded in 2012.
“A lot of Rehab’s stories at her time with ABC News focused on people who didn’t have a chance to be heard,” Mohammed said. “She was vigilant about making sure her stories in the media were portraying people justly and fairly. The journalism scholarship is for students focused on investigative work, starting with the University of Missouri and extending to other colleges in the future.”
Rehab’s sister Jude El-Buri served as a coordinator for the event in hopes of creating awareness and community involvement. She said her sister assisted those around her on a personal level by enhancing the community and holding a tight grasp on journalistic ethical codes.
“She believed in good journalism and ethics, her ideals were striving to bring diversity to the news room,” Jude El-Buri said. “That’s what inspired me to help, I wanted to continue that.”
The Rehab A. El-Buri Foundation hopes to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 to fund local projects, the journalism scholarship and melanoma research.
