Service and Justice Outreach, or SJO, a Registered Student Organization affiliated with St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, will be sponsoring the seventh annual 5k Run/Walk for Justice at 9 a.m. Saturday at Crystal Lake Park, 500 W. Park St., in Urbana.

“The race is important because it supports the activities of an organization with the socially optimal goals to serve the poor, stop poverty and instill some measure of dignity to all people,” said Austin Martin, junior in LAS and race coordinator for this year’s event.

Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The registration cost is $15 before Saturday and $20 on race day. Proceeds from the event will raise money for SJO volunteer activities. The group, which includes both residents and nonresidents of Newman Hall, seeks to provide Champaign–Urbana students and residents with opportunities to work for social justice through volunteering and service trips over school breaks, Martin said.

Martin said SJO uses the money to sponsor Thanksgiving, spring and winter break trips focused on volunteering. Past groups traveled to a South Dakota Indian Reservation and to New Orleans to help clean up hurricane damage.

“We learn about people who are dealing with issues of poverty,” said Sister Janice Keenan, spiritual director of the Newman center and SJO. “You learn about it from the people, not just some statistics.”

The race is one of the organization’s biggest fundraisers every year, Martin said. Several event sponsors will help cover the overhead costs for the race so all the proceeds can go to fund SJO volunteer activities, he added.

Sponsors include Provena Covenant Medical Center and Dave and Harry’s Locksmith. Great Harvest Bread Company will provide free “race rolls” for the runners and walkers, Martin said.

At the end of the year, SJO donates all the money it has left to charitable organizations through grants, Martin said. Last year, the group of about 50 students donated more than $1,000 to a program in Tanzania, Africa, to sponsor a child’s education. Another grant was given to a St. John’s ministry that supports the underprivileged Hispanic population of Champaign-Urbana, he added.

Keenan has been involved with the race for several years and has lead many SJO break trips.

“We don’t just have them go and serve,” Keenan said. “It’s to grow in their faith and to learn some community skills and bonding.”

Fernando Moreu, graduate student and SJO member, said he has run the race almost every year since it started.

“The race is important because it helps University students and community members think about service and justice through a fun and local event,” Moreu said.

He said he also participates in many other volunteer activities through SJO, including weekly visits to a nursing home.

“You end up getting more out of it than you give,” he said.