A Change of Pace Foundation will contribute to fund for police department
On Feb. 24, A Change of Pace Foundation will host The Davis Stampede in remembrance of Officer Natalie Corona, who was fatally shot in downtown Davis on Jan. 10.
To honor Corona, whose badge number was 224, the organization will contribute $2.24 from each entry ticket to a fund for the Davis Police Department, which allows the department to use the money at its discretion. ACoP will also display her number on its T-shirts for Davis-based events.
“We felt that was a small token of what we can do, but also honor her by putting that badge number on all of our shirts on the entire 2019 season,” said Dave Miramontes, the executive director of ACoP. “In tribute, we want to keep that number present throughout the year so we don’t go back to our daily lifestyles and forget about incidents like this or people like that.”
In addition to a kids’ fun run, the annual event features a half marathon, 10K and 5K, in which participants will be timed and may be eligible for age-group awards. With a large number of participants, ACoP — which hosts a variety of race events to promote fitness and healthy living — worked closely with the police department in the past for security reasons. According to the ACoP website, Corona had “enthusiastically assisted at some of [its] recent events.”
“Like everyone else in the city, I think our organization was hit pretty hard,” Miramontes said. “We deal with the police department all the time with all our events. They provide all the safety for the athletes, participants and, of course, for us. We’ve worked with them for a long time.”
Miramontes emphasized that the tribute extends beyond just Corona, and to all individuals of the police department.
“In doing this for Natalie, we’re also doing it for a separate reason too, and that is letting people know a lot of the times we take the officers for granted as far as safety goes,” Miramontes said. “It is a safe community without a doubt, and the reason for that is the officers that we have. We have to honor them along with Natalie.”
In the event’s 37-edition history, this will be the first time it incorporates a personal tribute. The date of the event was decided months ago, and happened to fall on Feb. 24 (2/24), coinciding with Corona’s badge number. The decision to dedicate the race to Corona came among many other efforts from the Davis community to deal with the tragedy. The organization experienced an increase in ticket sales in response to its support for Corona.
“We did get a surge when we first posted it out,” Miramontes said. “We got a lot of people that have said ‘that’s a great idea and a great thing to do.’ It may increase our numbers, and hopefully it does, but that wasn’t the goal.”
Student groups, such as the UC Davis Cross Country & Track Club, often volunteer to lead runners around the course and pass out bids or participate in ACoP events. Julia Cunniffe, a club member and fourth-year biological systems engineering major, initially signed up for the event for the fourth time to practice for her upcoming marathon.
“I think that it’s a really good idea,” Cunniffe said. “It’s inspiring because a lot of people participate in this event and it’s running for a cause. I signed up before that even happened, but I think it’s a good add-on.”
Written by: Renee Hoh — city@theaggie.org
