MERIDIAN — The lives of Emily Leyland and Sarah Kasunic were all too short. Their impact on people may go on for years.

Friday’s inaugural Twikight 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run will help see to that.

Proceeds from that event — sponsored by All Saints Parish and beginning at the St. Conrad campus on Buttercup Road in Meridian — will benefit All Saints Parish and the Sarah Kasunic/Emily Leyland Scholarship Fund at Butler Catholic. The bulk of the race is on the Butler Farm Show grounds.

Kasunic, 23, died of injuries she sustained when struck by a motor vehicle in Tennessee in 2019. Through organ donation, she helped sustain other lives.

“I believe 30 people received organs from her,” Tom Kasunic, Sarah’s father, said. “One person received her right kidney. His family is from Wisconsin. We’ve never met them, but they’re coming in for the race.”

Leyland died of leukemia in 2013 at age 31. Both young women were Butler Catholic graduates.

“Blood donation is so important and helpful to leukemia patients,” Hank Leyland, Emily’s father, said. “That’s something I’ll be talking about Friday. We want to stress that.”

More than 300 runners are anticipated for the 5k and 90 total awards will be presented. The top three finishers in each age group will receive awards.

The 5k is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Interested runners may still sign up the night of the race for a $25 entry fee.

Sarah Kasunic’s name is also tied to a 5k race at Butler County Community College. A registered nurse at the time of her death, she was a BC3 graduate.

“We had five kids go through Butler Catholic and they got a good start with their education there,” Tom Kasunic said. “Two of our kids went on to be doctors, two are engineers and Sarah was a nurse. They got their hard work ethic from Butler Catholic.”

Leyland emphasized that his daughter was never one for the limelight, describing her as a humble person.

“But I know she wouldn’t mind having her name tied to this,” he said. “Her Catholic education helped mold who she was.”

Kasunic said the idea for the 5k came from The Rev. Kevin Fazio, who approached him with the idea while they were taking a walk together three years ago.

“Father Kevin is a good friend. We had him over for dinner, then took a walk,” Kasunic recalled. “He said he had an idea he wanted to bounce off me and asked if it’d be OK to tie Sarah’s name to the fundraiser.

“At first, I thought it would overlap the BC3 event, but it’s working out extremely well. We’re hoping this is an annual event and will keep our daughters’ names out there.”

Leyland agreed. He and his wife, Terry, along with Tom and Margaret Kasunic, are on the scholarship committee that will review submitted essays from students. An interview process will take place as well to determine the recipients of the Kasunic/Leyland Scholarships, designed to help with the financial cost of attending Butler Catholic.

“People feel awkward and maybe think I don’t want to talk about Emily,” Leyland said. “I always want to talk about her. I want Emily’s name to be involved in every conversation.

“This is a great way to keep her spirit alive and benefit other people at the same time.”

Kasunic talked with Ed Doyle, who has put together numerous 5k events, when the BC3 race was formed. There were 230 runners at that inaugural run.

“Ed told me that 100 runners constitute a good turnout for a first-time race and we more than doubled that with the BC3 race,” Kasunic said. “This run Friday will more than triple that. We’re thrilled about the potential here.”