College-bound students to receive thousands in scholarships

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - This Saturday, June 29 at 8:00 a.m., thousands of runners will gather in Atlanta's Piedmont Park for the 12th annual Atlanta HBCU Alliance 5K Walk & Run. The event started in 2007 with a small group of dedicated volunteers from Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). It has become a summer destination for alumni and current students of the institutions of higher learning.

Proceeds from the race go directly to scholarships for current and new students at HBCUs across the country, distributed by 64 Atlanta-area alumni associations, who make up the alliance.

For the second year, FOX 5's Portia Bruner, a graduate of Howard University, will serve as the race emcee, helping to get runners excited before, after and during the race through the streets of Midtown Atlanta. Bruner will also help to distribute 10, $500 scholarships to students who are currently enrolled at an HBCU. Those awards will be given out on a raffle basis and any student attending an HBCU is invited to participate in the raffle by signing up on race day.

Since its inception, participants and sponsors of the HBCU Alumni Alliance 5k have helped to raise more than $1.4 million for scholarships to aid some of the best and brightest students from Metro Atlanta.

Race registration is available on-site on Saturday and the event is open to the public. For more information, visit hbcualumniatlanta.org.