Running for a cause

If you're driving in the West Bolton Jericho area, there's a chance you may see Nicole Handel and her dog, Bear.

The dynamic duo are no strangers to running around on the back roads, but this month, they're doing it for a special cause.

Nicole is one of the organizing forces behind Miles for Justice.

An idea pitched to her by her friend.

Throughout the month of June, Nicole is pledging $1 for every mile she runs.

She has 6 donors who are pledging to do the same.

She averages about 30 miles a week.

Each dollar raised is going to Outdoor Afro, or Greening Youth Foundation, which work to make the outdoors more accessible for black youth and adults.

And now, she's working to get people across the country to do it too.

"I feel like as a Vermonter, in a state that's really lacking in diversity, when this movement took off a couple of weeks ago I didn't really feel like there was much that I could be doing in my own state. And I felt a bit helpless. So this was a way, I figured I'm already running and I'm good at organizing people, this was a way that I could contribute to a global movement in a state that maybe doesn't get a lot of physical representation in that space," says Handel.

Nicole has started a Facebook group to connect everyone participating - it's at about 70 members and growing every day.

Group members are encouraged to pledge their miles to whichever organizations they'd like to support.

See the attached link for more information on getting involved.