ACC cadets join Burlington Torch Run for Special Olympics NC

Alamance Community College cadets ran beside Burlington police officers and firefighters as the Special Olympics Torch Run moved through Burlington and into Graham, tying local training, public safety and community support into one countywide relay for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

The Burlington leg covered a designated 6-plus-mile route and ended in Graham, where Burlington Police Department officers handed the torch to Graham Police Department. The run was part of the North Carolina Law Enforcement Torch Run, a statewide relay that stretches more than 2,000 miles across North Carolina throughout April and May.

Special Olympics North Carolina says nearly 2,000 law enforcement personnel support the Torch Run each year, making it the largest awareness campaign for NC LETR. The campaign has raised more than $33 million to date, money that helps support Special Olympics programs built around year-round sports training, athletic competition, health services and inclusive opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

For Alamance County, the turnout brought together cadets preparing for careers in law enforcement and the agencies that already serve the community. ACC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training program is the required entry-level certification pathway for becoming a law enforcement officer in North Carolina, and Burlington says the college typically conducts two to three BLET classes each year at its training center. The cadets’ presence put future officers alongside the departments they may one day join, while also reinforcing the public role of the torch run itself.

The relay’s final destination gives the event a larger arc than a local procession. The statewide Torch Run traditionally culminates at the Special Olympics North Carolina Summer Games Opening Ceremony, where the Flame of Hope is carried into the lighting of the cauldron. That finish links local routes such as Burlington’s to athletes across the state who rely on the movement’s fundraising and visibility.

In Alamance County, the run offered a visible reminder that the Torch Run is not just a law enforcement tradition. It is a public show of support that brings cadets, first responders, athletes and families into the same mile-by-mile effort, with Burlington and Graham serving as one local stretch of a campaign that reaches every corner of North Carolina.