Clark County has a long history of supporting organ donation and registering donors.

Former Clark Circuit Clerk Arthur “Whitey” Walson helped form the Trust for Life, among the state’s circuit clerks to campaign and register organ donors.

Deputy clerk Charla Hylton, a Clark County native, is helping plan the annual Gift of Life 5K and prepare for its third running in Winchester.

The race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Bluegrass Community and Technical College campus on Rolling Hills Lane. In the last two years, about 350 runners registered and more than $60,000 was raised across Kentucky to support organ transplant recipients.

Winchester Sun: How did you get involved with the Gift of Life 5K?

Charla Hylton: The 5K started five years ago. The first two years it was in Junction City. It’s kind of difficult to get to. It’s a small town in Boyle County. It would be like we had it in Trapp, only without Interstate 64 and Interstate 75 coming through the county. Even people in the state didn’t know where Junction City was. It wasn’t as easy to promote, and we said we’d like to have it here in Clark County. We have a great site. Clark County does a lot of 5Ks. We have a really supportive community. At the time, Paula (Joslin) was the clerk and knew I had a background in doing public relations and some event planning. She said, ‘I’ll give it to you and let you run with it.’ The mayor wrote a letter for us. (The Trust for Life) was talking about taking it to Louisville. When they realized what we could so here was so less expensive, they said let’s see what they can do in Clark County.

That first year, just the money raised was around $37,000. That was statewide, all the clerks’ offices working together. A good half of that, if not more, was from Clark County. That was more than we’d ever raised from it. Last year, they decided to do it here and an auxiliary rave in Louisville. Last year we had a tough year and it was more like $27,000.

WS: How is the Gift of Life 5K different from the other races?

CH: I have a nephew and a niece and her husband who all run 5Ks, 10Ks, marathons, triathalons. They are very athletic. When we started this, I contacted them, Dodd Dixon who is the track coach, and David Ward who runs, Ken Hubbard… and I asked what makes a good 5K. What appeals to you as a runner? We talked about prizes and the time of day and questions and questions. Instead of giving people medals they’ll keep in a box in the garage, we give mugs with the fabulous logo we got last year on it. They’re going to have their coffee in it every morning and they’re going to think about organ donation. It’s something useful. … We have door prizes. We also have, for the top six finishers, instead of a medal, they get a basket. There’s nothing out-of-the-world extraordinary, but we’ve got some T-shirts, some magnets, some honey, some barbecue sauce and sone Ale-8s. You’ve got a plethora of Central Kentucky and Winchester things that we send home with them. We’ve gotten a little reputation for it. Even if you don’t win, you might get a basket. It has made us stand out.

WS: How many runners have participated?

CH: We had about 150 last year. We had closer to 200 the year before. Whether they all ran … I signed up, but I didn’t run.

WS: Where do the proceeds go?

CH: The proceeds go to the Satterwhite Fund. Transplant recipients who are in need can apply twice in a lifetime for a $1,000 grant. That’s all they can get. It goes for things that insurance won’t cover. It might cover medication that insurance doesn’t see as something necessary. It can go for medical equipment. It might cover if someone has to go up to the Cleveland Clinic and they have to drive and stay overnight, we might pay for a hotel room and gas. It just depends on what they need. The people who do the grant applications are hospital social workers. We know the people on the grants are truly in need. You can’t apply yourself.

WS: Where does your passion for this event come from?

CH: I think it’s two things. I have met many of the people who are transplant recipients and are family members of donors. … It’s very moving. You hear these stories. You see them as these moments where they are deeply, deeply raw. These people lost their son a month before, and they were raw. But they were there. OR you see someone who is a month out from having a kidney transplant or having donated a kidney and they’re preparing to run a 5K. … You see those people. You get all these stories going in your head. They’re not just stories. They’re people you know. It’s amazing.

Knowing that you can make something happen, make something positive our of something negative. I’ve heard so many people who have lost family members who said they didn’t know what they were going to do and they were so glad our son, our brother or whomever wanted to be an organ donor. … We didn’t have to think about it. We knew what they wanted. …

It does mean a lot to me. This is something I believe in and enjoy planning. It’s something I truly, truly, truly believe in. It’s a phenomenal cause.