The Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics began in 1981 in Kansas where Wichita Police Chief Richard LaMunyon saw an urgent need to raise funds and increase awareness for Special Olympics.
The idea behind the Torch Run was to provide law enforcement officers with an opportunity to volunteer with Special Olympics in the communities where the officers lived and worked. After three years of successful runs in Kansas, Chief LaMunyon presented his idea to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which endorsed Special Olympics International as its official charity through the Torch Run.
In North Carolina, the first Torch Run was organized in 1987 when relays were run from Raleigh and Charlotte to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Fetzer Field, site of the 1987 SONC Summer Games.
Special Olympics North Carolina is the official charity of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. All law enforcement officers participating in the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics are volunteers. No professional solicitors or promotional companies are authorized to solicit on behalf of this event.
For more information, contact Leslie Moyar, Vice President of Development for NC Law Enforcement Torch Run, by email or at 919-210-0966.
Law Enforcement Torch Run® Fundraising Results
| Year | Total Raised |
| 1987 | $50.00 |
| 1988 | $3,700.00 |
| 1989 | $45,000.00 |
| 1990 | $100,000.00 |
| 1991 | $103,000.00 |
| 1992 | $139,000.00 |
| 1993 | $180,463.23 |
| 1994 | $274,076.79 |
| 1995 | $412,525.00 |
| 1996 | $522.959.00 |
| 1997 | $681,638.48 |
| 1998 | $930,977.41 |
| 1999 | $1,177,623.75 |
| 2000 | $1,254,125,85 |
| 2001 | $1,232,009.06 |
| 2002 | $1,163,235.49 |
| 2003 | $1,056,617.31 |
| 2004 | $987,826.60 |
| 2005 | $927,037.84 |
| 2006 | $1,076,941.00 |
| 2007 | $1,181,751.73 |
| 2008 | $1,115,926.11 |
| 2009 | $951,165.89 |
| 2010 | $1,004,721.36 |
| 2011 | $976,000.00 |
| 2012 | $1,119,107.44 |
| 2013 | $1,038,570.19 |
| 2014 | $1,190,592 |
| 2015 | $1,340,844 |
| 2016 | $1,282,847 |
| 2017 | $1,259,000 |
| 2018 | $1,467,000 |
| 2019 | $1,347,000 |
| 2020 | $979,896 |
The NC Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised $36,890,463 since 1987.
