Racers take flight at a previous Runway 5K.
Photo credit: Julian Parker-Burns
NORTHAMPTON — The Treehouse Foundation is lacing up for its third annual Runway 5K, an event that brings the community together and raises funds for foster care innovation.
On Sunday, May 4, Runway 5K will take place rain or shine at the Northampton Airport, 160 Old Ferry Rd. The race will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Registration for the race opens at 8 a.m. and participants are welcome to start arriving at that time.
Treehouse Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Holly Mott said there will be coffee and donuts, courtesy of Dunkin’, a sponsor of the event.
The 5K course itself, as described by Mott, is flat, friendly and accessible for all.
“Many, many, many people — including me — will walk it,” Mott said.
She went on to say, “We have an intergenerational community, so we have a lot of older adults, seniors with some physical limitations, and they have found it very accessible just in terms of the terrain is even and the course is flat, so it’s very accessible.”
Heading into its third year, Mott shared that the goal for attendance has increased by 100 participants since its start in 2023.
Last year, she said there were around 300 attendees. This year’s goal is 400.
Prior to the first Runway 5K, Mott explained that the airport itself had never done anything like it, so the first year, there was a cap at 200 participants. Based on its success, the airport saw they could open it a little bit more and increased it to 300 in 2024 — a goal which they met — and have now increased it again.
At press time, Mott said a little less than 300 people had signed up for the race.
Registration for the event will remain open until the 400-person limit is reached. If it does not reach capacity prior to the race, interested participants can register until the start time at 9 a.m. on race day. However, due to reaching the maximum capacity in previous years, Mott said people are encouraged to not count on signing up the day of the event.
To register for the 5K, the cost is $30. The fundraising goal for this year is $165,000.
“Everything raised goes directly to the Treehouse Foundation,” said Mott, including its various programs and services.
“Treehouse Foundation is locally — I think especially — known as being this one community that exists in Easthampton. This one affordable housing, intergenerational community that is really centered around supporting foster families, families who have opened their homes to children in the foster care system, and [Treehouse Foundation] is also opening new communities, so we have this very ambitious expansion plan and we’re already in partnership with a developer in the Boston area to build our second community,” Mott shared.
She went on to explain the reason for the expansion. “We would build on Easthampton and make it bigger in order to allow more families to benefit from the model, but the model itself is actually very much about keeping a community small enough that connection between community members is optimal, and that number has already been reached here in Easthampton. So, in order for us to be able to impact more families and more children and more older adults with a model like the one that we have here — and is almost 20 years old — we have to build new communities.”
The expansion of the Treehouse Foundation into Boston is underway and will be located in the Mattapan area. A site has been identified and a groundbreaking will take place in late 2026.
In the past, Mott said the messaging around the Runway 5K has been about specifically supporting families in Western Massachusetts. While the money raised from this event does do that, it also goes to the expansion planning for the Treehouse Foundation so that the benefits of their model can be felt statewide.
Some of the specific programming that the money raised from the 5K goes toward is Treehouse’s intergenerational programming that focuses on food security, after school programming, along with youth and family support and older adult specific.
Mott said, “May is Foster Care Awareness Month and our primary goal with the event is to raise awareness around foster care and to celebrate the lives of youth and adults whose lives have been impacted by family separation, foster care and adoption.”
Runway 5K is the Treehouse Foundation’s only fundraising event of the year, which Mott shared is a “pretty big deal.”
“This event would not be possible if it were not for the absolute dedication of the volunteer committee,” she said.
Once the 5K is over, she said the committee members, made up of several volunteers, will begin planning for next year’s event.
Some of those individuals include Andrea and Bob Bacon, owners of the Northampton Airport, and Chia Collins, a Northampton resident and co-chair with Andrea of the planning committee for the Runway 5K.
Mott said the Bacons are members of the committee and have been “huge supporters and planners” for the 5K, along with their airport staff and the Treehouse Foundation.
Mott noted that Greenfield Savings Bank is also a “critical partner.”
She said, “This is the second year in a row that they are doing a $15,000 community challenge grant. Every individual who registers for the 5K will automatically have an individual fundraiser created once they register for the race. And Greenfield Savings Bank is depositing $25 into every single person’s fundraiser. So, anybody who registers, will automatically raise $25 for Treehouse through this community challenge grant.”
Mott extended her gratitude to all the sponsors, consisting of about 35 this year. A full list of sponsors can be viewed on the Runway 5K website.
“This is my first 5K. I’m super excited, I think it’s going to be really fun. We’ve got a lot of fun giveaways, a lot of fun sponsors bringing swag … it’s going to be a great day,” Mott shared.
For those who are unable to attend the 5K but would like to support the Treehouse Foundation, visit treehousefoundation.org. Mott said there are pages dedicated to the 5K and links at the top of the page to donate or sponsor.
Another way to support youth in foster care is through The Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble, a program of the Treehouse Foundation’s HEROES Youth Leadership Program. Mott said, “A generous anonymous donor is matching all donations to the team — up to $2,500.” To donate and learn more about the Truth Tellers, visit RunSignUp.com/TruthTellers and click the “Donate” button.
Mott noted that this year in particular has been “significant” for the Treehouse Foundation.
The nonprofit organization was founded in 2002 by Judy Cockerton, and the community opened in 2006. Last year, Cockerton stepped away from her role and now they have welcomed a new CEO, Erika Kuester, who Mott said has been working to bring Treehouse into its next chapter — celebrating 20 years next year — and a chapter in which the foundation will multiply into other communities.
To learn more about the Treehouse Foundation or to register for Runway 5K, visit its website.
