IRIS’s annual Run for Refugees 5K draws thousands

By HQ Press staff

Multimedia by Lee Colon

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — As temperatures climbed into the mid-40s, about 3,000 runners filled the streets of the East Rock neighborhood Sunday morning to raise funds for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.

The Run for Refugees 5-kilometer run, which is held each year on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday, raises tens of thousands of dollars for the non-profit and draws local and state politicians.

About eighty Quinnipiac University students and faculty joined a yellow-clad team representing the Global Public Health programs.

Wendy Sewack, assistant director of global public health, helped organize the team.

“Especially because we work in global public health, this is something all our future health care practitioners are going to need to see and be a part of, so we wanted to show our support,” she said.

Sewack said 2019’s IRIS Run for Refugees is the third time QU Global Public Health has sponsored a team.