Late teacher’s dream to help students lives on in annual Mog Jog 5k fundraiser

To keep a former first-grade teacher’s passion alive, St. Paul Lutheran School is preparing for its annual 5k run-walk fundraiser at the end of the month.

For eight years, St. Paul Lutheran School has hosted the event to raise money for the Brenda Mognis Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance for the school’s students.

The fundraiser began with Mognis, who taught first grade at St. Paul’s for more than 15 years, said Marianne Daughdrill, the school’s director of admissions and development.

Mognis was diagnosed with leukemia, Daughdrill said, and the first Mog Jog raised money for her bone-marrow transplant at Stanford Hospital.

It was one of Mognis’ dreams to be able to help students with tuition at St. Paul’s, Daughdrill said. And now, nearly eight years after Mognis’ death, the school continues working to make her dream a reality.

“We want to keep her memory alive, and I know it’s a dream she would be so happy to see,” Daughdrill said.

Part of the proceeds also go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The race will be at 8 a.m. Jan. 28 and begins at St. Paul’s at 2916 McKee Road in Merced. Registration starts at 7 a.m. and a continental breakfast will be included. Coffee and hot cocoa will be sold.

To register, pick up forms at St. Paul Lutheran School, the Merced Antique Mall and Peraino’s Jewelers. Preregistration ends Jan. 21.

Preregistration fees are $50 for a family entry for up to four family members, with a $5 fee for additional members. Individual entries are $25 and the on-site registration fee is $30.

“She was one of my best friends,” Daughdrill said. “She was just the sweetest, most soft-spoken, godly woman I knew.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Late teacher’s dream to help students lives on in annual Mog Jog 5k fundraiser."