As the last participant in the first annual Green Dot Trot 3K community fun run/walk crossed the
finish line on September 7, the Green Dot project celebrated its success. Spreading awareness
about violence and providing tools in preventing it is exactly what success to the Green Dot
project looks like.
The Green Dot Trot 3K took much planning and preparation which started back in March, but
with a great team and helpful community members, it was able to come together as a success.
Green Dot coordinator, Kaitlin Atkinson, was pleased to see many community members coming
out and supporting this event. Atkinson has been with the project from the beginning and she is
excited to see it continue to grow.
The 3K race registration began at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning with the race beginning at 10
o’clock. Participating walkers and runners received a race bag that included a long sleeve
performance T-shirt, a drawstring bag and a free item from the Greenway Takeover Festival.
Race fees were $20 for adults and $15 for students. All proceeds went straight to covering the
cost of the race bags and shirts.
“We really didn’t want this to be a fundraiser event. We wanted people to just come out and
learn about the project,” Atkinson said.
The Green Dot project is a bystander education and awareness program that everyone can do.
“Green Dot recognizes that everyone has their own lines and we give the community the tools
that they need in order to do what they can do to prevent violence” Atkinson said, “Anything we
can do to reduce the rates of violence is our main goal.”
Race participants, Stephanie and Kayla, said that this was a positive event and for a good cause.
“This event really brings awareness to the community about violence and the impact that it does
have on people and how we can prevent it,” Kayla said. Stephanie agreed with, “Promoting the
educational piece especially with the green dot project and how bystanders can intervene in
certain situations is important.”

In supporting the educational piece to the Green Dot Project, they have previously hosted booths
at events such as the Greenway Takeover, Grand Forks Community Celebration, and a block
party at University Park.
The Green Dot Trot event was a positive way of bringing community members together and
getting them involved and aware of an inspiring project that takes place here in Grand Forks.
After revising the outcome of the Green Dot’s first race, coordinator Atkinson is very pleased
with the number of participants and results and she can foresee more races in the future to come.
She hopes to add more things for next year’s race, but in the meantime, she will be preparing for
the other upcoming Green Dot events, a few being Green Dot trainings throughout the
community.
For more information about the upcoming Green Dot events or general Green Dot Project
information you can visit their website at www.greendotggf.com. Green Dot Project has 15 on
staff members and many volunteers that are eager and willing to help in any way possible.