Each year on National Cancer Survivors Day, the first Sunday in June, the Heaven Can Wait 5K draws thousands to Bend’s Drake Park with a shared mission to raise funds for Sara’s Project, a fund of St. Charles Foundation, providing education, early detection and support services to ease the challenges of breast cancer for people in Central and Eastern Oregon.

Heaven Can Wait was founded in 2000 by Charlene Levesque, a breast cancer survivor. Charlene’s diagnosis prompted Central Oregon Running Klub (CORK) to begin formulating the idea of a women’s event that would promote early detection of cancer and encourage a healthy active lifestyle.