Community is invited to ‘Race Through the Prairie’

Community is invited to ‘Race Through the Prairie’

Inaugural event will bring families, friends and neighbors together while supporting Sun Prairie kids, teachers and staff

Sun Prairie, WI May 12, 2026 – All nine of Sun Prairie’s elementary school community organizations (SPASCO) are coming together to host a family-friendly community event on June 20, 2026. Race Through the Prairie is a city-wide scavenger hunt and team challenge for the whole family, and SPASCO is looking for more teams to join the fun. All donations and sponsorship from the event will support kids, teachers, and staff at Sun Prairie’s elementary schools.

“We’re working with some great local businesses and organizations, as well as representatives from the city to create a day of fun and community,” said Dawn Snyder, co-chair of the event and vice president of SPASCO. “We hope to get as many teams of families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers involved as possible.”

Race Through the Prairie will take teams on an adventure that’s part scavenger hunt, part team challenge through Sun Prairie’s streets, landmarks, and local businesses. Teams will complete challenges as they go, and the day of fun will culminate in a party at Sun Prairie West High School, where all are invited to mingle, have fun, and congratulate the competitors. For teams who don’t want to travel through the city, there will also be an option to compete in a series of challenges localized at Sun Prairie West High School. Teams interested in participating should register by June 6.

The event is the first fundraiser hosted by SPASCO, an organization formed in 2025 when leaders from the nine elementary school community organizations (SCO, Sun Prairie’s version of a PTO) joined together to address inequities in the support that elementary schools were receiving from the community.

“Like any city, Sun Prairie has neighborhoods that run the gamut of socio-economic status, and we found where some SCOs could raise thousands to support their school, others were having trouble raising just a few hundred,” explained Jen Brandt, current president of SPASCO. “Lucky for us, the caregivers in Sun Prairie understand these discrepancies and decided to come together to bridge that gap and ensure all of our amazing elementary schools are getting equitable support from our community.”

Race Through the Prairie and future joint fundraisers will build a shared pool of funds to address the SCO funding gaps. The organization is looking for local businesses to sponsor the event, as well as the 2026/2027 school year. 

“Every year, our nine SCOs approached many of the same local businesses asking for support and sponsorship,” said Snyder. “The Sun Prairie business community is so incredibly generous, but we also understand that, in some cases, hearing from nine different schools at different times of year can be taxing on that generosity. That’s why this year, we’re working together to consolidate our ask, so businesses hear from all of us, all together, one time. We’ve already heard from many business owners that they appreciate this more streamlined approach.”

Business owners who are interested in sponsoring SPASCO’s Race Through the Prairie can reach out to the team at spasco.fundraising@gmail.com.

Community members interested in joining the race can learn more and sign up at bit.ly/2026RTTP. Teams must register by June 6.