Why Charity Really DOES Begin at Home
And by “home”, I mean your own community
Doris Walton is a force to be reckoned with.
Not quite 79 years of age and standing maybe five feet tall, she’s not an imposing figure.
But once she starts talking about something she is passionate about, she is larger than life.
Before I tell you HER story, let me tell you a little bit of BACK story.
I live in a community of about 9000 residents, among them a healthy bunch of running enthusiasts known as the Amherst Striders - all paces, all abilities, all walks of life - the motto: “no one gets left behind”. This means that we start our runs together and we finish our runs together - the faster runners simply accumulate more mileage by “looping back” for the others.
I’m also a member of a local committee that organizes a run each year in Amherst NS. We call it the Amherst Valentine Run, now entering its 9th year. As you may have guessed, the committee is comprised of a few Amherst Striders. The event takes place the weekend closest to Valentine’s Day and also happens to coincide with the Family Day long weekend in Nova Scotia.
Most years, proceeds raised from the event are distributed among various school and local organizations that benefit children and encourage their participation in physical activity.
Last year due to the global pandemic though, the event was held virtually - which means that participants couldn’t gather together as we have in past years. So we promoted the event as “run where you are”, regardless of the distance, for a set price that was determined to be cost-neutral. Participants earned bragging rights by posting their completion photo and finishing time on the Amherst Valentine Run (AVR) Facebook page AND earned an event-themed mask. We couldn’t be as charitable as in previous years, but we still encouraged our community members to “get up and move around”, or as my grandmother used to say “get out and blow the stink off”.
This year, we will once again be holding the event in a virtual format. It’s not ideal, but our community COVID cases have been steadily increasing. And as many of our participants and beneficiaries are under the age of 12 (and not currently eligible for the COVID vaccine), we’ve opted for this more restricted type of event.
But we also want to give back.
This year we are very cognizant that if you want to run, you need to be properly fuelled. Kids are no different!
For $25, registrants can participate in the distance of their choice (3k, 5k, 10k or 21.1k) and run it anytime between February 11-21, 2022. The registration fee will include some event-themed commemorative running gear (as yet unannounced) but it will also benefit local food programs.
We didn’t know how dire the situation was until I spoke with Doris.
I had called the local schools to ask about their various available food programs and in almost all cases, I was directed to this outfit called “The After the School Bell Food Program”.
May as well go straight to the source, I figured.
I dropped by the very humble program space on a whim this past Monday morning. What I didn’t expect, but I’m glad to have experienced, was a very eye-opening (not to mention heart-breaking and gut-wrenching) conversation with Doris Walton.
A few years ago, Doris offered to help the local food bank by staging a school-based food drive. But what transpired set her back on her heels. The yield was very low. When she talked to the school principals, she learned the reason behind the low numbers - families in many schools simply didn’t have any food to spare.
28% of children in our community live among “the working poor” and below the poverty line.
Food insecurity is a real thing.
Once alerted to the cold hard truth, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know better.
Since 2018, Doris and her holy host of volunteers coordinate food provisions to children at risk in 9 schools in our district.
This annual 41-week program, in coordination with these schools, helps to ensure food security for over 100 kids in our local area - confidentially, discreetly, and with dignity.
Her only regret is that she can’t do more - so she’s trying to get a similar program set up in a neighbouring community.
“We aren’t here to judge. We’re here to help.”
So this coming Valentine’s Day, it’s a no-brainer for the AVR.
We’re donating all proceeds to the After the School Bell Food Program as well as to the Amherst Food Bank and the Amherst Regional High School Viking Pantry.
No child should have to worry about where their next meal will come from.
And if Doris Walton has her way, that worry will be eradicated.
No one will get left behind.
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To learn more about the program or to consider starting a similar program in your own community, visit the FB page here:
https://www.facebook.com/Aftertheschoolbellfoodprogram/
To learn more about the Amherst Valentine Run and how you can help, visit the FB page here:
https://www.facebook.com/AmherstValentinesRun/
About the Creator
Shelley Carroll
Ms. Carroll is a 50-something year-old retired public servant and mother of three adult children. She and her partner Hal live in Amherst NS with a sweet, anxiety-ridden rescue dog. Shelley loves reading, running and red wine.
She/Her
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