BERNARDSTON — The United Arc will host its inaugural family-friendly 5K fundraiser on Saturday, June 8, where people can also enjoy live music and refreshments and enter to win raffle prizes.

“It’s going to help so many people,” The United Arc’s Event and Community Generalist Sandra Vecchio said of the fundraiser. “It’s going to keep United Arc moving forward, investing in the community and the individuals and families that we service.”

The 5K will start at Pratt Field on South Street and will loop back around to Hitchcock Brewing Co., where the festivities will follow. Online registration ends at midnight on Thursday, June 6. Participants who have signed up can choose to run or walk, and runners who want their run to be timed will be accommodated. Medals will be awarded in different male and female age groups of 5 to 15, 16 to 39, 40 to 59 and 60-plus.

All proceeds will go toward The United Arc’s mission to support people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities to help achieve the universal goals of inclusion, choice and independence.

“We’re going to be using the funding to help our individuals pursue their goals that they may have not been able to pursue without help and assistance,” said The United Arc’s Director of Finance Michelle Collings. “It’s a fabulous adventure to be able to come across all these individuals and organizations who don’t know who we are, so they find out who we are and what we do.”

More than 40 businesses and individuals have donated to the 5K and the festivities that will follow. Raffle tickets will be sold for various prizes and gift baskets from donors such as Yankee Candle, Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, the Springfield Thunderbirds and more. Live music will be performed, while people in attendance can enjoy refreshments and a drink named after The United Arc at Hitchcock Brewing Co.

Vecchio mentioned the town of Bernardston has been “overwhelmingly welcoming” and also thanked event sponsors such as the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

“Every little bit helps,” Vecchio said. “Those who attend, we know that they’re doing it with a lot of generosity in their heart, and those who can’t, we know that they wish they could.”

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Check-in and bib pick-up will be between 7:45 and 8:30 a.m. at Pratt Field before the race starts at 9 a.m. For more information or to register online, visit theunitedarc.org/first-annual-5keg.