The REALTOR® Association of Southern Kentucky (RASK) in Bowling Green holds 2 MAJOR annual food drives –REALTORS® Hope for Hunger – Feeding Local Families in the Spring (established 2012) and the Glow Run/Walk in the Fall (established 2014). 100% of money raised from both events is given back to our community in the form of food.
Why are we holding the 5K Glow in virtual form? RASK wants to continue to create awareness about the hunger and food insecurity situation in our community and surrounding areas AND Take Action to do something about it! Especially with the insurmountable need at this given time.
More than 50% of our children in the city/county schools are on the free/reduced breakfast and lunch program. Several city/county schools in our area even have 90% + students on the free/reduced breakfast and lunch program. Many of these children often receive their only meals at school. With current times, a vast number of students aren’t even in school. This means we need the support of our great community even more!
Most people do not know that programs such as the “backpack” program stops when school is NOT in session, therefore many kids who receive their only meal at school will not even get a bag of food at all for the weekend. This means any time school is not in session – Fall/Spring break, Christmas, snow days, and Summer break – a child in our community will be hungry. The food we are able to purchase through our community service projects helps to fill the gaps. Most of the food which we purchase is distributed directly by one of the school Family Resource Coordinators (FRCs). The school FRCs visit the homes of these children when school is not in session and deliver food to the children that would otherwise go hungry. Currently we are able to support Warren City/County Schools, and countless others in Allen, Butler, Edmonson, Logan and Simpson counties.
We also support HOTEL INC, a community-based non-profit organization which provides Warren County citizens with pathways to stable housing, community resources, building relationships, quality food, and serving our neighbors by stocking the “Mana Mart” food pantry. HOTEL INC provides an average of 8,000 services per year; HOTEL INC food pantry, which is called the Mana Mart is averaging 50 new households a month.
REALTORS® Hope for Hunger Glow Run/Walk has donated hundreds of thousands of servings to children in our school systems and HOTEL INC since the start of these events. We are now one of their largest food donors, and they count on us to help them feed families in need.
By participating in the Glow Virtual 5K from Thursday, October 22nd through Thursday, October 29th, 100% of your registration fee will go towards feeding a hungry belly!
Please help us achieve our goal of having at least 200 Runners/Walkers in the 7th Annual Glow event!
-submitted by REALTOR® Association of Southern Kentucky
