COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 12, 2012) – Jamaican Olympic medal winner Yohan Blake remembers how he felt when he received his first cricket bat from the nonprofit Food For The Poor.
“What makes my relationship with Food for the Poor so interesting is that as a young boy they gave me my first cricket bat,” said Blake, who professes a love for the bat-and-ball game. “I will always remember how this made me feel. I am so proud to be a part of such an organization.”
To give back, Blake is stepping up to help more people overcome poverty by kicking-off Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7 a.m. at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
“I know what it is to be hungry and so I respect what they are doing,” said Blake. “Food For The Poor is one of the most important charities in the Western Hemisphere. The fact that Food For The Poor grew out of Jamaica is amazing. This is what I want to achieve with my foundation.”
Proceeds from this year’s 5K Walk/Run will raise money to purchase food to feed destitute families in the Caribbean and Latin America. A generous donor has agreed to match every dollar raised with an additional dollar’s worth of food.
“Earlier this summer at the 2012 London Olympics, Yohan Blake made Jamaicans everywhere proud as he and his teammates broke a world record,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “We are honored that Blake, a gold medalist, has partnered with Food For The Poor to lead the fight against hunger."
You can register online for the 5K Walk/Run at www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk. Cost of registration is $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-10. There’s no fee for children 5 and under. The registration cost includes a T-shirt. There will be refreshments, live music, balloon artists, face painters and more at this family event. Registration starts at 6:30 a.m., the run/walk begins at 7 a.m. and the awards ceremony is at 8 a.m.
Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, will join Blake at the run/walk. Martinez traveled to Jamaica in August to cover the island-nation’s 50-year anniversary of independence. While in Jamaica, Martinez saw the poverty firsthand.
Special awards will be given to top finishers of each age group. Food For The Poor will be using AccuChip to provide state-of-the art timing and scoring. This service is used for running, triathlon, swimming, mud runs and biking events in Florida.
The 5K Walk/Run is presented by Winn Dixie. Event sponsors are Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Corner Bakery Cafe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, PNC, Polyglass, Runners Edge, Sun Sentinel, TeamReliv, WATA, Wells Fargo, and World of Beer.
Yohan Blake limited edition commemorative WATA bottles will be distributed at the run/walk.
There will be several opportunities to help and have fun before the run/walk.
• On Sunday, Oct. 28, plan to gather at Bru’s Room in Coconut Creek to register for the run/walk and to watch the 1 p.m. kickoff of the Miami Dolphins v. New York Jets. Miami Dolphins cheerleaders will distribute prizes to fans from the team’s touchdown van at Bru’s Room, 5460 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Coconut Creek, Fla.
• Tickets to the Miami Dolphins v. Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday, Nov. 25, can be purchased for $50. Fifty percent of the ticket sales through the nonprofit will be contributed to the run/walk’s final donation tally. To order tickets, or to request additional information, please send an email to events@FoodForThePoor.com.
Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
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