Boerne-based military sexual trauma (MST) advocacy group The Pink Berets will on Sept. 30 hold its inaugural Run To Remember 5K Run/Walk and vigil, aiming to raise awareness surrounding MST and service member violence.
A partnership between The Pink Berets and the I Am Vanessa Guillén Foundation, the 5K will take place at Mission County Park on San Antonio’s South side. It will conclude with a vigil just after sundown, at 8 p.m.
The event will feature several speakers, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Mayra Guillén, younger sister of slain Texas soldier Vanessa Guillén, whose 2020 disappearance and murder shocked the nation and ignited a movement to end military sexual trauma.
The Pink Berets is a Boerne-based nonprofit serving women in the military and first responders who live with PTSD from MST and other forms of violence. The I Am Vanessa Guillén Foundation advocates for justice for soldiers like Vanessa through community and legislative action.
So far, the foundation has pushed for several federal provisions, including those under the “I Am Vanessa Guillén Act,” which became law on Jan. 1 of this year. For the first time in U.S. military history, ranking commanders won't be able to decide whether to prosecute service members accused of serious crimes such as manslaughter, stalking and domestic violence. Instead, independent prosecutors will make that call.
Registration for the Run to Remember will begin at 5 p.m. at the Mission County Park Dance Pavilion, 6030 Padre Drive, on Friday, Sept. 30. The 5K Run/Walk will begin at 6 p.m. and the vigil will begin at 8 p.m.
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