After her mother’s untimely death in September 2003, Tiffany Smith-Woodson said she and her family wanted to turn their “hurt into hope” for others as a way to cherish her memory.

Named for her mother, Mary Elizabeth Smith, a Country Club Hills resident, the Mary E. Smith Foundation was created in 2008 to help fund research on brain cancer, assist brain tumor patients and families financially, and provide scholarships for college students.

Mary Smith died, at age 50, just four days after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Annually, since the foundation was established, it has sponsored the Brain Tumor Awareness 5K Fun Run/Walk, held in partnership with the city of Country Club Hills. It takes place Saturday at Community Park in that city, 4200 W. 175th St.

The event raises funds for the foundation’s work, and, to mark the 10th year, a 10K has been added, according to Smith-Woodson, president of the Matteson-based foundation and Mary Smith’s youngest daughter.

The event is free to attend, but there is a registration fee for runners and walkers.

For online registration, the cost is $40 for the 5K and $45 for the 10K. The day of the event, the fee is $50 for the 5K and $60 for the 10K

“Last year we had about 300” participants, Smith-Woodson said.

Online registrations can be completed through the foundation’s website, www.maryesmithfoundation.org.

More information about the even is available by calling 708-342-0800 or emailing information@maryesmithfoundation.org.

Check-in and onsite registration takes place from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

Timed runners start at 8:45 a.m. while other runners and walkers begin at 9 a.m.

Runners and walkers use the path that encircles the park, with two loops around the path for the 5K while the 10K involves four laps.

Along with the walk and run, the event will feature music, activities for kids, such as face painting, and a balloon release to recognize those who have survived brain tumors as well as those who have succumbed.

Franciscan Health and Ingalls Memorial Hospital are also participating in the event, according to the foundation.

The event helps raise money used by the foundation to provide scholarships to high school students around the country who plan to study science or medicine, particularly in the areas of neurology and oncology, Smith-Woodson said.

“We’ve given away over $80,000 in scholarships (since the foundation’s creation),” Smith-Woodson said, noting that one of the past recipients is now a practicing doctor.

This year the organization awarded $6,000 to six students, including two from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor.

The foundation has also partnered with the Cancer Support Center in Homewood to financially support the families of cancer patients. This year the foundation provided $600 to a family in North Carolina, she said.