The ninth annual Raising the House 5K Run and Walk will be held at 9 a.m. on May 7 in Palmerton.

Held annually each spring, the race is dedicated to the memory of Blaine House, a Towamensing teacher who died in 2013.

Participants must be registered by April 15 to receive a T-shirt. They may still register leading up to the day of the event.

Board member Tamara House said she’s excited for this year’s event.

“The race is back 100%, we’ll be having a DJ, food, fun,” House said. “We had to scale back a little bit during the last two seasons.”

House noted there will once again be a virtual option, and added that as long as participants register for the race, either in-person or virtually by April 15, they will receive a T-shirt.

She said the race is one of the nonprofit organization’s largest fundraisers of the year, along with Lights at the Lake, a 1-mile drive-thru Christmas light event that’s held at Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

“As always, we are continuing to raise funds for the students and their families in the Palmerton Area School District,” House said. “Some of the things we use funding for, we have a Blaine House Backpack Program, which helps with school scarcity issues in the school district; we also give the (Raising the House) scholarship for a graduating senior, and to help students and their families who are facing disadvantages, any type of hardship.

“Everyone on the board is a volunteer, 100% of the proceeds raised are used for students, families, and the community.”

Last year’s race marked the first time the event was held both in-person, as well as virtually.

Due to COVID-19, they were only able to do a virtual race in 2020.

House said the funds for the 5K Run and Walk support the mission of the Raising the House organization, which is to provide financial assistance to students and families within the district, while honoring the memory of Blaine.

She said they are looking for volunteers and race sponsors as well.

Anyone interested may visit raisingthehouse.org, the Raising the House Facebook page, as well as on Instagram.