5K Participants Feed Thousands

Food For The Poor’s 5K to Feed Thousands of Children

	More than 600 walkers and runners participated in Food For The Poor's 5K Walk/Run For Hunger at T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park in Hollywood, Fla. on Nov.8. Participants raised funds to feed more than 1,600 children for an entire year in the Caribbean and Latin America, thanks to a generous donor who matched every dollar raised with and additional dollar worth of food.
Related Item: See Photos from the Race

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (November  17, 2014) – More than 600 walkers and runners participated in Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger at T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park in Hollywood, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Honorable Franz Hall, Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami; Eric Yutzy, co-anchor for WPLG-TV Local 10 Morning News; and Natacha Sarthou Kalicharan, Mrs. West Indies International 2014, joined walkers and runners at the 5K Walk/Run.

“On behalf of the children in the Caribbean and Latin America who will be nourished because of the generosity of strangers, please accept my heartfelt thanks,” said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma.

Participants raised funds to feed more than 1,600 children for an entire year in the Caribbean and Latin America, thanks to a generous donor who matched every dollar raised with an additional dollar’s worth of food.

Aloma and Yutzy stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the finish line to encourage runners to finish strong.

Luis Angel Arroyo stood out from the crowd when he raised his eyes to heaven to praise God, after he crossed the finish line of his first 5K race.

“I myself used to be homeless, hungry, and addicted to drugs,” said Arroyo, who was not discouraged that he needed to catch a bus at 5 a.m. and walk 1.5 miles to be on time for the event. “I thank the Lord who saved me and used Broward Outreach Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., and all of the churches that come there to help.

“I wanted to do this for everyone who is hungry and stuck out there, to bring awareness that there is help,” said Arroyo. “I want to do this for the rest of my life.”

The fastest male was Moses Washington, with a time of 16:39. The fastest female was Alejandra Simon, with a time of 22:40. Additional race results by AccuChip are available online at www.foodforthepoor.org/accuchip.

Handcrafted tin-art medallions from Haiti were awarded to first-, second- and third-place finishers in each age bracket for runners. The striking sun-shaped medallions were created by Louisdjy St-Jour, a Haitian metal artist who lives in a Food For The Poor-built home in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti.

For just $14.60, Food For The Poor can feed a hungry family of four for a month. To make a donation, please visit the charity’s website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk.

The event’s presenting sponsor was Toshiba. Additional event sponsors included Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Cruise Planners, Dataline, Dennis Charley & Associates, Iberia Bank, Jamaica Tourist Board, Kind Snacks, Miami Marlins, Orange Theory Fitness, Publix, Rockers Movement, Seaboard Marine, Sun-Sentinel, TD Bank, The Food Truck Collective, Tri-Rail, Unum, Vitas Innovative Hospice Care, Waste Management and Wells Fargo.

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.