Yohan Blake to Lead Race

	Racers take off with Yohan Blake, center, at the starting line in last year's 5K Walk/Run.
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 9, 2013) – Jamaican Olympic medal winner Yohan Blake will lead Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 8 a.m. at T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park in Hollywood, Fla. Blake, nicknamed “The Beast,” is the current world champion over 100 meters and a silver medalist at the  2012 Olympics in London  in the 100 and 200 meters.

“I encourage the South Florida community to come out to support Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger,” said Blake, one of the world’s fastest sprinters. “I am looking forward to this year’s competition.”

Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, also will join walk/run participants as they raise money to feed starving children and their families in the Caribbean and Latin America.

“I know what it is to be hungry and so I respect what Food For The Poor is doing,” said Blake, who is leading the walk for the second year in a row, and who founded his own charity, YB Afraid Foundation. “It is a cause that’s near to my heart as a Jamaican, and I’m happy to be part of something so special.”

Register and donate online at www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk. This year your donations will go twice as far, as a generous donor has agreed to match every dollar raised with an additional dollar’s worth of food.

Incentives for fundraising through Nov. 2, 2013 include:

• Raise $50 – receive the official 5K Walk/Run For Hunger T-shirt
• Raise $100 – receive a goody bag of prizes and the official 5K Walk/Run For Hunger T-shirt
• Raise $250 – receive a V.I.P. pass to the Caribbean Tent, an entry to win a $500 Winn-Dixie Shopping Spree, a goody bag of prizes, and the official 5K Walk/Run For Hunger T-shirt.

The fee for runners is $30 in advance, and $35 the day of the event. Medals will be given to top runners of each age group. Race timing will be provided by AccuChip. There is no fee to participate as a walker, but both runners and walkers are encouraged to raise at least $50. Parking is free.

For more information, please call 954-427-2222, ext. 6854 or email RachelP@foodforthepoor.com. You can also register the day of the event. Registration starts at 7 a.m., the walk/run begins at 8 a.m. and the awards ceremony is at 9 a.m.

The 5K Walk/Run event sponsors are Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Charter Schools USA, Consul General of Jamaica, Dennis Charley & Associates, Enterprise, Gallery 2014, Iberia Bank, KPA Promotions, Orange Theory Fitness, Panda Express, Polyglass, Runners Depot, Sun-Sentinel, Tri-Rail, Vector Security, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, WATA, and Wells Fargo.

WATA bottles will be distributed at the walk/run, which is Yohan Blake’s official sponsor. Refreshments will be provided by Winn-Dixie and Corner Bakery.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.