Student's fund-raising efforts hit ground running

When Wes Joines couldn't get a bid to the Marines Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., he decided to run in a different direction.

Joines, a "nontraditional" senior public policy and business double major, will run 26.2 miles Saturday along the Connecticut coastline in the Mystic Places Marathon, taking him through the historic districts of East Lyme.

Joines has been running since his freshman year of high school. "I love running," he said. "It's relaxing to me."

But this particular race has a higher purpose.

Through a program at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, Joines interned this summer at N.C. Prevention Partners, a Carrboro-based nonprofit agency that emphasizes preventative health care.

The organization focuses on poor nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco - three factors that cause more than two-thirds of all preventable deaths in the state, said Executive Director Meg Molloy.

"There's a lot of training involved (in preparing for a marathon)," Joines said. "And I thought I would be more apt to be dedicated to it if I had a nonprofit to raise money for."

Joines chose N.C. Prevention Partners.

Last spring, Joines set a goal of raising $1,000. To date, he has raised $775 and said he expects to raise the balance by the end of the year.

"There was never any specific deadline," he said. "Before the end of the year, I'll have $1,000 one way or another."

The money Joines has raised will go to the Independence Campaign of N.C. Prevention Partners, a three-year effort to transition the organization to fully independent nonprofit status.

Joines said that because the organization receives money from taxpayers, it often faces difficulty advocating for controversial measures.

"They'll just have an easier mission if they're independent from financing from the (UNC) School of Public Health and tax money, and I want to support them in that," said Joines. "I think that their mission is great."

Molloy said the Independence Campaign's annual fund-raising goal is $100,000 and that so far this year, it has raised $75,000.

"It's primarily from $10 and $20 donations," she said, adding that Joines' contribution represented a substantial amount. "Wes' marathon is a great example of people contributing at whatever level they can."

Joines' enthusiasm has extended to others at the organization.

"Wes inspired me," said Peg O'Connell, chairwoman of N.C. Prevention Partners, who normally walks three miles a day. "When Wes said he was going to do a marathon, I thought, 'I couldn't run, but I could walk 10 miles - that's more than my normal.'"

O'Connell raised $1,252 from her own personal walk - an amount that was matched, to her surprise, by her husband.

"I think (Joines' marathon) demonstrates what N.C. Prevention Partners is all about - incorporating physical activity in your daily life. We like to say we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk. In Wes' case, he runs the run," she said.

Joines admits that he has never run a marathon before.

"The longest run I've ever done is right at about 20 miles, but they say that if you can run 20 miles ... you can run a marathon," he said.

Joines said he is hoping to run the race in 3 1/2 hours, but added, "I'll be happy just to finish."

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