No one left unscathed.

At the beginning, there were smiles, clean faces and plenty of white shirts. At the end, all that was left were the smiles.

Nearly 500 runners — and hundreds of volunteers — converged on downtown Vicksburg Saturday to take part in the annual True Color Run to kick off the United Way of West Central Mississippi’s fundraising campaign.

“We had close to 500 runners register and another 200 United Way volunteers,” United Way of West Central Mississippi director Michele Connelly said. “That doesn’t even count the people who are here with our partner agencies or those who are out at one of the color stations.

“There are more than 1,000 people out here today supporting the United Way.”

This marks the second year for the color run, which has served as the kickoff for the United Way’s annual campaign.

“It is definitely a mix of emotions,” campaign chair Jennifer Grey, who helped organize Saturday’s event. “There is a definitely a build up. There is so much we put in to it. I’m just worried that I am going to wake up tomorrow and say, ‘Oh, it’s over.’

“But the best part is that this is the kickoff of what is to come over the next few months, which is brining in money for all of our partner agencies,” she said.

United Way of West Central Mississippi works with 20 partner agencies throughout the region to meet a wide-range of community needs.

To do so, the United Way each year seeks to raise money to support those agencies and their programs.

Final figures from Saturday’s kickoff event were not available, but Connelly expects the second annual run to be as successful as last year’s inaugural event.

Based on the success of the first two events, Connelly said, there is no doubt there will be a third annual.

“Obviously, yes,” Connelly said. “This is a great opportunity to come together.”

For more information on the United Way of West Central Mississippi, the programs and agencies support and how you can become a part of the annual fundraising campaign, call 601-636-1733 or visit www.unitedwayvicksburg.org.