PRESTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Ask around Bath County, and Karson Tolle says you’ll hear the same thing.
“Bath County is a true definition of what you imagine a community to be like,” Tolle said.
It was that same community and its support that helped Tolle through a difficult time in her life.
Tolle, a freshman at Morehead State University, has spent the past two years hosting a 5K to help families impacted by cancer.
“We always use those funds and give those people who need gas cards or need to have funds for groceries and we also make these things called sunshine bags and we deliver them to chemo radiation treatment centers,” Tolle said.
In 2019, her family received some unexpected news.
“Dad was completely healthy. He was running marathons left and right, and then he just got hit with cancer,” Tolle said.
Suddenly, the man her family leaned on needed their support.
“He was always the person that we could lean on and then when this happened, he needed to lean on me and my mom,” Tolle said.
As he went through chemotherapy, one gesture stood out.
“They're just little bags and they have things that you don't think that people would need but they do need it to get their mind off of chemo and radiation, and my dad said that's probably what got him through the most of it,” Tolle said.
That same year, he beat cancer.
Now, Tolle is making sure other families receive the same support that helped her own.
The 5K will take place Saturday in Preston and helps provide support such as gas cards, grocery assistance and sunshine bags for families facing cancer treatments.
People can still register for the race beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday in front of The Store in Preston before the event gets underway.
Alex Barber is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to him at alex.barber@wlex.tv
