Created in loving memory of our sisters, Casey Schulman and Shelley Goldsmith, the Thankful 5K brings our community together to send a message of love and gratitude and to celebrate what we are thankful for. Proceeds are donated to the Alpha Phi Foundation, a nonprofit organization in support of women’s heart health, the Casey Schulman Foundation, a scholarship fund for students in need, and the Shelley Goldsmith Memorial Scholarship.
Why it’s important to us
Casey Schulman was a fourth-year Alpha Phi in her fall semester at UVA when she passed away in an accident while studying abroad with Semester at Sea. While she was abroad, one of her professors asked her and her classmates to write down one word about how they were feeling.
In big letters, Casey wrote "thankful."
The Thankful 5k was then created to honor Casey's legacy. When Shelley Goldsmith, a rising third-year in Alpha Phi, passed away the following summer, it only made sense that the Thankful 5k was put on in her honor as well.
Thankful supports scholarships in Casey & Shelley’s names that go toward furthering the education of students in need, or who otherwise could not afford higher education. Casey’s scholarship is awarded to a student from JEB Stewart high school, her alma mater, and Shelley’s is given to a student from SouthWest Virginia who plans to attend UVA.
Both young women's love was deeply contagious and they profoundly touched the lives of everyone they knew. With Thankful, their memories continue to touch the lives of grateful students each year. We are honored to continue to host this event that brings together the family, friends, and Charlottesville community that Casey and Shelley loved so much in their memory.
Thankful 2020
Thankful, like most things, looked a little different this year. While we couldn’t bring our runners together physically, our first-ever virtual Thankful 5k still brought our community together at a time when we needed it most. With 1,880 runners from 20 different states, we were able to raise $15,978 in Casey and Shelley’s honor.
A special thank you to our Alpha Phi Philanthropy team, Logan Brady, Kate Lowenstein, & McClain Morran for making this all possible <3