The Frisco Education Foundation is stepping up its annual 5K and fun run for the foundation’s 20th anniversary. 

For the first time, the event will include a free festival, foundation president Sunitha Cheruvu said. The addition not only celebrates the foundation’s 20-year milestone but also serves to include more of the community, she said. 

“If you don’t necessarily walk or run in the 5K, families can still join us,” Cheruvu said.

The festival will include face painting, balloon animals, bounce houses, cultural performances and giveaways, Cheruvu said. Proceeds from the event benefit scholarship opportunities for Frisco ISD students.

As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the foundation awarded nearly $680,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors in eight FISD high schools last school year. The 5K and fun run is one of the main ways the foundation collects scholarship funds, Cheruvu said.

Demand for FISD student scholarships is up this school year as Lebanon Trail and Memorial high schools welcome their first senior classes, increasing the foundation's reach to 10 high schools, Cheruvu said in previous reporting. 

The event is presented in memory of former Frisco Assistant Fire Chief Gary Burns, who died of colon cancer in 1999, according to the Frisco Education Foundation website. 

“He really is the inspiration for us doing this,” Cheruvu said. 

The Gary Burns Memorial Scholarship Fund, which offers innovative teacher grants, is one of the scholarship opportunities that event proceeds go toward, per the website.  

The Frisco Education Foundation 5K, Fun Run & Festival is Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8 a.m. at Toyota Stadium. For more information about the event and registration, visit www.friscoisd.org/departments/frisco-education-foundation/fun-run.