Shepherdstown Day Care will hold its annual 5K Run By the River this Saturday, Sept. 24. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. and continues to 8:45 a.m. at SDC’s campus at 531 East German Street extended. The official start is at 9 a.m..

The race course goes from the day care center, down River Road, along the scenic Potomac River and back to the day care center. The course will be well marked and maps will be provided.

The event also features a Kids Fun Run, which goes from the day care center to Rumsey Monument and back. Medals will be award to the top finishers and all runners will receive T-shirts.

After the race concludes, massage therapists from NOVA Alternative Wellness, one of Shepherdstown’s newest businesses, will offer 20 minute massages for $25.

Major sponsors for the event include: Aurora North Software, Hassan Rasheed, The Bavarian Inn, Dr. Anne Basham, The Blue Moon Cafe, Skinner Law Firm, Shepherdstown Pharmacy, Ritchie & Associates, Two Rivers Treads and the SDC Board of Directors.

“This is an important fundraiser for us,” said board member Ian McBride, the event organizer. “We are grateful to our sponsors for their support.

“SDC is the only childcare center in the Eastern Panhandle that offers a sliding scale tuition fee based on family income. More than half of our children receive the state’s tuition subsidy for low income children.

“Tuition payments that we receive do not fully cover operational costs and we depend on revenue from events such as this to to help us maintain our programming,” McBride said.

Runners’ entry fee is $25; kid’s fun run is free. For more information or to register, call the center at 304-876-6923.

Walk up registrants will be accepted on Saturday until 8:45 a.m.

Shepherdstown Day Care has been providing affordable, nurturing child care and enriching educational experiences to the children of the working poor in WV’s Eastern Panhandle since 1973. A 501 c 3 organization, it offers programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, before and after school care and the WV state-mandated pre-K class. It is the only daycare center in the Eastern Panhandle with a sliding scale tuition fee based on family income.

For more information about Shepherdstown Day Care and its programs, please contact Melissa Holman, director, at 304-876-6923.