Griffith City Council will vote on who manages the annual fun run, from a pool of one

Back in February, Griffith City Council called to local not-for-profits and charities for interest in organising and running the annual Griffith City 2 Lake Fun Run for up to three years beginning in 2024.

Can Assist, who have organised the run in the past, were the only group to make a submission - and at the upcoming council meeting seem set to secure custody of the event for 2024 to 2026.

The run began in 2012 to raise money for St Vincent's Private Hospital, and was organised by their fundraising committee, while in 2018 it raised funds for the Griffith Base Hospital.

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Since 2019 however, Griffith Can Assist has organised the yearly event despite a number of hurdles in the way.

While the 2021 run was cancelled due to COVID-19, and the 2022 run was held with restrictions, Can Assist chairwoman Olga Forner wrote that they had established their skill at organising large events.

"From 2013 to 2016 Can Assist Griffith provided volunteers to assist with activities at the Start Line ... Can Assist Griffith went on to fully plan, organise and implement the 2019 and 2020 City2lake event," she said.

"Both events were hugely successful attracting over 1100 participants each year and raising a combined $140,000 all of which is being put to good use helping local people with Cancer."

Ms Forner added that the money would go a long way - with over half of Can Assist's income coming from previous runs.

"During the period of 2020 - 2022 Income sources for Can Assist were limited. 60 per cent of its income came from City2Lake events in 2020 and 2022, 35 per cent from General Donations and 5 per cent from other income sources such as funeral donations," she wrote.

The recommendation from council staff is that councillors support Can Assist's submission to continue staging the fun run until 2026.

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