‘Easter Run’ to support empowerment programs
BETHANY — As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Glenda Bitner knows why the eighth annual “Easter Run” benefiting the House of Healing is important.
Hundreds of runners participate in the 10K and 5K races and the One-Mile Fun Walk set for 9 a.m. to noon March 31 at The Cube at Council Road Baptist Church, 7903 NW 30. House of Healing is a local organization that helps teenage girls, many with difficult pasts like Bitner, find emotional and spiritual healing and discover freedom, hope and restoration.
“I wish something like these programs, this place, had been available to me. I was in pain, confused, and making poor choices. I needed help, but I had no idea how to ask for it or what that would look like. I didn’t trust adults,” Bitner said.
Currently, Bitner serves as a mentor and one of the equine specialists at the House of Healing.
“I’ve been trained to work with horses and people, creating a safe environment to build relationships with equine and people. These girls come to us with a wide range of issues. Some, like me, have been bullied. Some are the bullies,” she said.
“The horses are great teachers and mirrors of our emotions. The mentor program helps guide these young ladies and gives them a trusted adult to talk to.”
The Easter Run is professionally timed and sanctioned by USA Track & Field and is open to anyone.
After the races, the Easter Family Fun Day starts at 10 a.m. and is open to the public. Free activities include age-divided Easter egg hunts, inflatables and face painting. Local food trucks will be on-site, and a portion of their proceeds will go to the House of Healing.
Registration costs are $15 for the Fun Walk, $25 for the 5K and $35 for the 10K. Corporate and private sponsorships are available.
For more information, go to house-of-healing.org/easter-run.
Fiction writers to meet
EDMOND — OKC Christian Fiction Writers will host New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Linda Goodnight from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Henderson Hills Baptist Church, 1200 E Interstate 35 Frontage Road.
Goodnight will speak on “How to Keep Your Readers Engaged.” She will share a variety of techniques used by successful authors to engage readers and keep them eagerly turning pages.
Goodnight’s latest book “Christmas for the Cowboy,” book four in her Triple C Cowboy series, was released March 2. Goodnight has authored 50 novels.
OKC Christian Fiction Writers meets the third Saturday of the month at Henderson Hills Baptist Church. For more information, go to http://okcchristianfiction writers.com or email Chris Tarpley at OCFWchapter@gmail.com.