THERE is still time to register to make a running start on beating hunger in Ballarat. Entries are open for two more days to the inaugural Run for a Cause.
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Final preparations for the event are well underway and conditions are shaping up to be perfect to run or walk with sunshine and an expected top of 25C forecast for Sunday.
The Ballarat Foundation chief executive officer Matt Jenkins said the event was very much a new venture for the foundation but community support in an ambitious lead-up had been amazing.
Pipers, cheerleaders, drummers, motivational signage and the Salvation Army band will be activating the course for all those walking, running or rolling.
The Vic Park events precinct is set to feature community sports activities for children, massage for runners and walkers, a fairyland with face-painting, a Fernwood warm-up for all participants and food and drinks from partners.
There is also a chance to meet with food relief partners the event is supporting. A portion of all Run for a Cause entries will support an individual’s frontline food relief charity choice as well as the feed Ballarat appeal to establish a food distribution centre for the region.
Run for a Cause will feature 10 and five-kilometre runs, a wheelrace, 5km family walk and children’s dash. All participants receive a medal when finishing.
Run for a Cause fills the charity run gap left by the now-defunct Run Ballarat, which finished up when reaching the events fundraising goal for a new children’s ward in Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital.
The Ballarat Foundation intends to focus on a different social cause impacting on the wider Central Highlands region each year.
A focus on hunger comes after a report earlier this year reveled one in 12 Ballarat families are accessing food relief each year.
Foodbank Victoria distributed 32,194 kilograms of staple, fresh and frozen foods to among four charities in Ballarat last financial year. More food rescue and donated product is available, but Ballarat lacks the facilities to receive, store and distribute food, which a dedicated food hub would provide.
To register: run4ac.org. Entries close Thursday, 11.59pm. No walk-up entries.
Foundation welcomes PM’s Foodbank back-flip
THE Ballarat Foundation welcomes a back-flip from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to keep Foodbank serving staples to the hungry nationwide.
A federal government food relief funding redistribution announced Monday was set to halve the charity’s key staples program, which includes working with food manufactures in using spare production capacity and supplies.
This came days before the inaugural Run for a Cause, raising money for a food distribution centre in Ballarat. Foundation chief Matt Jenkins said reversing the decision quickly was a smart move on a growing issue.
“Statistics indicate bare cupboards and empty plates are the reality for many Ballarat and Grampians families,” he said. “It’s called food insecurity and it can happen through an unexpected change in situation.”
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