The 20th annual CHaD HERO fundraiser raised a record-breaking $1 million for local child healthcare, according to fundraising events director Olive Isaacs. The Oct. 19 event, hosted by the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, drew more than 3,600 volunteers and runners to the one-mile, 5K and half-marathon races.
Since its launch in 2006, the fundraiser has supported programs like the Child Life Program — a Dartmouth Health Children’s program to promote childhood development and minimize hospitalization trauma across southern New Hampshire — and the Pediatric Mental Health Access Initiative, a program to remove barriers to care at Dartmouth Health Children’s, such as transportation costs and time away from school or work.
This year’s CHaD HERO event drew “record-breaking community support” from Dartmouth students and the Hanover community, Isaacs said.
“People were really passionate about celebrating the 20th year with us,” Isaacs said. “We had teams come out stronger than ever, donors step up bigger than ever. There was just a lot of excitement about achieving this big goal.”
To encourage wide participation, Isaacs said that CHaD HERO has “no registration fee” in an effort to make the event “accessible to everyone.” Instead, participants are required to raise $150 to enter the half-marathon, $100 for the 5K and $25 for the one-mile race, according to the Dartmouth Health website.
“It's a peer-to-peer fundraising event,” Isaacs said. “People sign up and ask their friends to donate in support of the activity that they’re doing.”
Manchester resident Shirley Bhutto, who participated in the 5K run, said the fundraising process was “very easy” since all transactions were online.
“Fundraising is a no-brainer,” Bhutto said. “It’s for a great cause.”
According to Isaacs, 11 Dartmouth athletic teams and clubs played “significant roles” in this year’s event, including the ice hockey, football, rugby and cheerleading teams, who lined the finish line to cheer on participants.
“Kids [at DHMC] see the [athletes] as heroes,” she said. “It means the world to them.”
The event also received support from several student and community groups across Dartmouth and the Upper Valley, including Dartmouth Diabetes Link, the Miss New Hampshire pageant, the Hanover High School girls’ soccer team and the Montshire Museum, according to Isaacs.
Event operations volunteer Brandon Han ’27 said he chose to volunteer because he felt “connected to Dartmouth Health’s message and mission.”
“Helping support our most vulnerable patients in the Upper Valley is something that I think is very important,” Han said. “So ultimately coming here for my morning and volunteering for the [half-]marathon is something that I thought would be a good way to spend my weekend.”
For some participants, CHaD HERO was a cause that hit home. Claremont resident Christen Laplante said she and her husband were “inspired” to take part in the 5K run because their son is currently finishing his treatment for leukemia, a form of blood cancer.
“He’s seven years old and was diagnosed at five,” Laplante said. “CHaD has been a huge contributor to why he’s healthy today, which is exactly why we did the race.”
Laplante described the event as having “fantastic” energy throughout and said the people were “amazing.”
“It’s truly a blessing and a wonderful feeling to be part of this,” she said. “There is absolutely a sense of community here.”
A route change for the 5K and half-marathon this year due to construction on Hanover roadways also meant that participants ran straight down Main Street, Isaacs said.
“People from the local businesses could come out and cheer,” Isaacs said. “It was a different course, but a really exciting one for our 20th year.”
Isaacs added that Dartmouth Health has already begun planning for next year’s CHaD HERO event.
“It’s going to be hard to top this year,” Isaacs said. “But I have no doubt that next year, the momentum built from this year will take us forward and help us continue to raise these really vital funds.”
