“This Run for the Ribbon actually is the best way to bring men together with their families on Father’s Day,” said Dr. Michael Lutz, urologist and president/CEO of the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation.

“It’s about just bringing the family together for a common cause and making everybody feel that the reason for survivorship is right there…that’s what we really want people to understand is that the world that they need is right there next to them and in front of them.”

The Michigan Men’s Health Foundation’s Run for the Ribbon 5K took place on Father’s Day, June 15 at 8 a.m. The event is located at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, and participants can walk or run either a 5K or a 1-mile loop inside the zoo. The foundation aims to raise awareness for men’s health in particular prostate cancer awareness.

“My role is to help direct the way the foundation goes, as far as how we can advance all of our men’s health advocacy services within the community… in particular underserved communities throughout the state of Michigan,” said Lutz.

According to the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation website, in 2011 another event was developed by the foundation, the Men’s Health Event, offering free health screenings and vaccines for local men.

“Having been a urologist for 40 years I’ve treated well over 2,000 with prostate cancer,” said Lutz. “One of the things that’s grossly lacking is the support from families and community and I thought we needed to develop and offer more than just direct patient care and that’s why in 2008 we started this foundation to find ways to reach back into the community.”

Participants in the 5K event can dedicate an “In Celebration Of” sign for a loved one that is placed along the route and can be brought through the finish line.

Many of the run’s workers and volunteers help out because someone in their lives has been affected by prostate cancer. Shawn Manley, a volunteer for Run for the Ribbon since 2020, said he wants to give back to his community and learn more about men’s health after his brother was affected by prostate cancer.

“A lot of men don’t go to the doctors, they’re afraid it’s just been like that for many years, and when you have anything that says men’s health I think more men should come out and learn about what’s going on with their bodies,” said Manley.

According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and it is the second leading cause of cancer related death among men in the U.S.

“Prostate cancer is often a symptomless disease at first and that is why a lot of men don’t catch it early and when they do finally get diagnosed it’s at an advanced stage,” said Andrea Hamilton, executive director of the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation.

This cause and event is important to Hamilton as her family started attending the run in 2014 after her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and now serves as executive director of the foundation.