Thousands of Santas run to raise money for nonprofit
December 7, 2024 - 4:43 pm
Thousands of runners dressed in red coats and white beards descended on Las Vegas Boulevard for the 20th Great Santa Run on Saturday.
Nearly 5,000 runners registered for the Great Santa Run in downtown Las Vegas, which gave runners two options: run a 5K or run one mile.
Opportunity Village, a Southern Nevada nonprofit that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, hosted the annual event and registration fees support the nonprofit’s mission.
Opportunity Village offers workforce training and direct employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said spokesperson Laura Foster.
Although the majority of runners dressed as Santa, some opted to bring their own holiday costume. Some runners dressed as reindeer and a handful of runners dressed as the Grinch, a character created by children’s author Dr. Seuss.
With their registration fee, which ranged from $25 to $55, runners received a five-piece Santa suit, which included a red coat, red pants, Santa hat, beard and drawstring bag, Foster said.
Las Vegas local Daniel Dudas, 34, works for Opportunity Village and was waiting to cross the start line Saturday morning. This would be Dudas’ 10th year participating at the Great Santa Run.
He said that seeing friends and colleagues is the reason why he comes back every year. However, this time, he brought his mother, Dawn Dudas, 67.
“I’ve never done this before. I usually just drop him off,” she said. “It’s a good cause. It’s helped my son, Dan, and we love Christmas.”
It’s not only locals that don the red coat and white beards, it’s also visitors from all over the country.
“We really do have people registered from all over the country who come to Las Vegas for this event, or if they’re already going to be here, they add it to their itineraries,” Foster said.
One of those visitors was Henri Jose, 40, who came from Arizona to support a friend at the event. Jose, proudly watching from the sidewalk, said that coming back next year is a definite yes.
“It makes it feel more like the Christmas season,” Jose said.
“When I registered, I looked into what the money for this whole thing was going to, Opportunity Village. It’s for a good cause,” Jose said.
The Great Santa Run also drew in volunteers, some from a local magnet high school. A handful of students from Advanced Technologies Academy’s National Honor Society volunteered at the event.
“We’re handing out waters to the runners as they’re coming in from the finish line,” said Jaila O’Connor, 18.
“I enjoy knowing that I’m helping for a great cause I really care about,” O’Connor said. “I really like the message.”
Supporters and onlookers loudly cheered as runners crossed the finish line near the intersection of Bridger Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.
Opportunity Village places clients in a variety of jobs, said Foster.
“We have people who work at car dealerships. They help detail cars or help in the service center. We’ve had people who’ve gone into office work and they build new hire orientation kits,” Foster said. “It really is a little bit of everything.”
The goal was to raise $10,000 for the nonprofit, and that goal was surpassed a couple days before the run on Saturday, Foster said. As of Thursday, the event had already raised over $15,000, she said.
Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X or @annievong.bsky.social.