Men in pumps

From left: Men’s basketball coach Billy Donlon; Seth Gordon, Veteran and Military Center director; Fairborn Deputy Mayor Marilyn McCauley; and Jonathan Granata, a student and military veteran. McCauley founded Operation Fairborn Cares, which will hold a Heels for Heroes race to benefit returning military veterans on Sept. 14.

Footraces featuring men in heels and women in combat boots will make downtown Fairborn an unusual sight Sunday, Sept. 14.

The races are part of a fundraiser to support Operation Fairborn Cares, which helps Greene County military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with expenses as they transition back into the civilian world.

The races, which begin at 1 p.m., will feature men in women’s heels and women in men’s black leather combat boots running for nearly a city block. There will also be a race of elected officials and a relay race featuring teams of three. Cost to run is $30 per person or $75 for each relay team.

Operation Fairborn Cares was formally established in January 2013 by Wright State graduate and Fairborn Deputy Mayor Marilyn McCauley. So far, it has provided assistance to 14 military veterans, five spouses and 18 children.

“We help them meet their day-to-day living needs such as rent, car repair, groceries, utilities, diapers — whatever they might need just to survive,” McCauley said.

Wright State men’s basketball coach Billy Donlon, honorary chairman of Heels for Heroes, said supporting the troops is very important.

“They’re providing our freedom,” he said. “The sacrifices they make in their own personal lives and the lives of their families and the risks that they take is something we can’t repay.”

Seth Gordon, director of Wright State’s Veteran and Military Center, said Operation Fairborn Cares has helped military veterans who are Wright State students.

“You can’t be successful in college if you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, where you are going to sleep,” Gordon said. “If the basic needs aren’t met, the higher needs can’t be met.”

McCauley also established the Boots to Books Veterans Support Fund, a program at Wright State that helps struggling military veteran students make ends meet.

Donlon intends to run in the Heels for Heroes race.

“My plan is just to show up and race. There will be no practicing,” he said with a smile. “If I practice, I may take myself out of the race for injury reasons.”

For more information, contact OFCOIFOEF@gmail.com or 937-305-7540. Registration on race day starts at 11:30 a.m.