Boston, a city celebrated for its historical sites, is also widely known for its historic Boston Marathon. During this year’s CHEST Annual Meeting, attendees are invited to bring their athletic shoes and take part in the CHEST 2024 5K Run/Walk.

The 5K will begin at 6:45 am ET (plan to arrive around 6 am) on Tuesday, October 8, on Castle Island in South Boston, which is less than three miles from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. CHEST 2024 attendees can register online through October 6, but participants who register by Friday, September 13, will be guaranteed a commemorative T-shirt.

“I’m a runner, and the times of my life when I use my lungs most are when I run,” said CHEST 2024 Scientific Program Committee Chair, Gabriel Bosslet, MD, FCCP. “It seemed like a natural fit to marry the use of lungs with the fact that we are having the meeting in Boston, which is home to one of the world’s most well-known marathons.”

Whether you set a casual or competitive pace for the 3.1 miles, the 5K presents a great opportunity to connect with fellow CHEST attendees and raise funds for CHEST’s Community Impact pillar, which is part of CHEST’s philanthropic goals.

Formerly referred to as the Community Service Awards and distributed by the CHEST Foundation, this program has distributed more than $10 million in awards since its inception in 1996. Now, as part of CHEST philanthropy and its overarching commitment to social responsibility, the Community Impact pillar distributes funds to on-the-ground nonprofits committed to tackling respiratory health issues.

“I think one of the greatest things that we saw last year with this new model in Hawaiʻi, and that we’re continuing to do with Boston, is that we want to make sure we’re selecting organizations that are aligned with our mission,” said CHEST Director of Philanthropy and Advancement, Meggie J. Cramer, MBA.

The Community Impact pillar has been recalibrated and aims to support partner nonprofits that are embedded within a community and have the best sense of the local challenges and potential solutions.

“Our goal with the Community Impact pillar is to continue that mission and help us invest in the success of those community organizations who are doing the work,” she said.

In Boston, CHEST members will also have the opportunity to volunteer their expertise to local organizations during the annual meeting as part of the CHEST Community Connections program. This year, CHEST is partnering with the We Got Us Project, the Tufts Community Health Workers Engaged in Integrated Care (COHERE) Program, and the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. All three organizations will receive a $5,000 grant funded entirely through philanthropy and the gifts of CHEST member-donors.

“By empowering the folks who are actually doing the work on the ground, we’re creating not just a more equitable opportunity for patients, but making sure that, at the end of the day, we’re not coming in and going against a model that’s already working,” Cramer said.

For more information about the CHEST Community Impact pillar or to make a gift to support its goals, contact [email protected]. If you are interested in learning more about ways to get involved at the annual meeting, please reach out to CHEST Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Elizabeth J. Stigler, PhD, at [email protected].