A Kansas University student will run back and forth across campus for three straight days and nights this week to raise money for Lawrence’s homeless.

“It brings together my passion to help other people and my passion for running and exercise,” said KU graduate student Richard Friesner, who will begin the long haul Wednesday on Jayhawk Boulevard.

Friesner, now working toward a master’s degree in environmental science, competed in last month’s Boston Marathon. He ran in the Heartland 100, a 100-mile trek through the Flint Hills. And he’s tackled Across the Years, a 24-hour race in Arizona.

But this week’s pursuit to raise $3,000 for Jubilee Cafe marks a high point in his career, he said.

“It’s got a greater purpose,” he said. “It means more to the community. It means more to me spiritually as well.”

Jubilee Cafe, a volunteer group that serves restaurant-style breakfasts to the homeless, has struggled to find the funds to cover the more than $300 weekly cost of serving meals to the needy. The breakfasts, served for free on Tuesday and Friday mornings at First United Methodist Church, cost about $1.25 a person to produce. The cafe’s only costs are food.

The program, once sponsored by Canterbury House, the Episcopal campus ministry, was cut by the ministry and now fends for itself, said Paul Shipley, a coordinator with the Center for Community Outreach at KU.

Finding the money to provide the meals can be a week-to-week process, Shipley said. But, he added, Jubilee Cafe has a strong support network, so he doesn’t think it faces the threat of closing altogether.

Kansas University graduate student Richard Friesner plans a three-day run to raise money for Jubilee Cafe, which serves free meals to people who are homeless.

“It’s borderline, but it’s definitely stable,” he said.

A donation of $3,000 would be a windfall for the struggling program.

“That’s 10 weeks’ budget right there,” Shipley said.

Friesner has volunteered at Jubilee Cafe for six years – flipping pancakes, serving breakfasts and chatting with those who come to eat.

He heard conversation about the program’s struggles.

“In listening to that, it made me think maybe there’s something I can do,” he said.

Friesner will run along Jayhawk Boulevard, stopping for a total of no more than two hours per day. A booth on Wescoe Beach, staffed by friends and volunteers, will collect donations and give sport drinks to the passing Friesner.

He expects to log 225 miles per day for three days. He will run until he collects $3,000. If donations come in to finish up the drive, he’ll complete that day’s run.

Friesner already has collected $1,500. He said he’s been heartened by his fundraising work so far.

“I just feel like there’s a whole lot of support here,” he said.