Law Enforcement Torch Run brightens Grand Marais, raises funds for the Special Olympics

 

The 2022 Law Enforcement Torch Run was a shorter jaunt through Cook County this year, but it was just as important and meaningful as ever. Because there weren’t enough runners, the event didn’t start at the US Port of Entry but instead started in town, with several people carrying the Flame of Hope as a large group walked behind the Grand Marais Fire Fighting truck that led the way.

In some years, Cook County Law Enforcement personnel would join their counterparts from Thunder Bay at the center of the Grand Portage US Port of Entry Pigeon River border crossing and pass the Flame of Hope between them. Then carry the Flame of Hope along the shore to the county line, where Lake County law enforcement and Special Olympics athletes would take their turn carrying the torch. In Minnesota, Law Enforcement passes the Flame of Hope a combined 925 miles through the state, with the Flame of Hope ending at the Special Olympics Minnesota Track and Field Summer Games on June 25-26 at Stillwater High school.

How did this all begin?

The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1981 when Wichita, Kansas Police Chief Richard LaMunyon came up with the idea. He believed the Torch Run would help connect local law enforcement with the community and support the Special Olympics program in Kansas. It turns out the police chief was right, and today the Law Enforcement Torch Run includes all 50 states, 10 Canadian Provinces, and 35 nations.

The stated goal of the LETR is to “raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement.”

Law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes participating in the Torch Run are known as The Guardians of the Flame. More than 97,000 law enforcement members have acted as Guardian of the Flame and while carrying the torch.

According to the LETR website, “The Flame of Hope symbolizes courage and celebration of diversity and the inclusion of all people around the world. The Torch Run is the world’s largest grassroots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle for Special Olympics.”

Since 1981 the LETR has grown and includes other fundraising platforms such as Plane Pulls, Polar Plunges, Tip-ACops, and more, raising more than $600 million for Special Olympics programs.