On November 2nd, UNO – It Only Takes ONE (or UNO), celebrated the 17th annual Carrera de los Muertos/Race of the Dead in Pilsen. This year marked a historic turnout with over 7,000 runners, families and community members gathered in celebration of Día de los Muertos which featured lively entertainment, symbolic attire like Calaveras, and local authentic food. Started in 2007, the 5K has grown to become the largest grassroots, nonprofit-led race in Chicago and the only race of its scale that highlights Latiné culture, making it a truly unique event in the city. All proceeds support UNO’s programming to empower young girls. UNO uplifts and empowers girls by providing guidance, leadership skills and mentorship through girls sports programming and holistic support. GirlsMPowered, one of the organization’s signature programs, is designed to provide guidance, support, and mentorship to young girls in 6th to 10th grade, as they navigate their journey from adolescence to young adulthood. This fall, the team also launched RunHer, a program designed to support girls in Pilsen as they trained for their first ever 5k alongside community mentors and a trained mental health professional from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chicago. The program broke down barriers and stigma around mental health in the Latiné community and received donations of running shoes from On Cloud.  Through fundraising and donations, Carrera de los Muertos generated $100,000 for UNO’s programming. 

Photo Credit: UNO