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Community Support
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The Get in Gear 10K
began in 1978 and was incorporated as a non-profit organization in
1990.
In 1987, in response to
the burgeoning crisis in youth wellness, the Fit For Fun 2K training
program was developed and since then has involved over 70 schools and
70,000 children achieve higher levels of health, fitness and self-esteem
through participation in the Get in Gear 2K.
In 1998, the Fit For
Fun 6-week training program was given the Award of Excellence for
outstanding contributions in the promotion of physical activity
presented by the Minnesota Council on Physical Activity and Sport. The
Fit For Fun program has also been recognized as a candidate for Youth
Program of the Year in 2008 at the Running USA conference. The Get in
Gear offers youth scholarships for those wishing to participate in the
2K but in need of financial aid and has funded hundreds of children’s
participation since 2000 helping to fuel the future of the sport of
running.
In 2005, the Get in
Gear added a 5K as a training tool for those needing a lower distance
event to train and aspire to the Get in Gear 10K. It has been a
success and approximately 2000 participants register each year. Youth
group discounts are offered to coaches of teams interested in utilizing
the 5K as a spring board to training and as a way to continue to bring
youth to the sport of competitive running.
In 2009, the Get in
Gear added a final event, the Half-Marathon, to reach those runners in
our greater metro area that are training for a spring/summer marathon
and are looking for a long run the last Saturday in April or as a
springboard to spring and summer marathon training.
In 2006, the Get in
Gear partnered with Second Harvest Heartland in their fight to end child
hunger and has annually donated a match in kind from participants to
reach a goal of a grand total of $100,000 in 2011. Additionally, an
on-site food drive is held annually and participants are encouraged to
bring non-perishable food items to donate to Second Harvest Heartland.
The Get in Gear also
reaches into the community by offering a $500.00 charitable donation to any
community groups or school groups looking for a fund raising opportunity
by volunteering for our event. The Get in Gear has proudly contributed
to the following list of community groups with a charitable donation
and/or offering discounts for group participation.
-
Charities Challenge
-
Boys to Men Inc.
-
Lakeville South High School Track &
Field Team
-
Bolder Options
-
Heidi’s Angels Trust
-
St. Helena’s Church Youth Group
-
Eagan High School Cheer Team
-
White Bear Lake North Honor Society
-
White Bear Lake Boys Tennis Team
-
Girl Scout Club of America (See
their story)
-
Boy Scout Club of America
-
Bethel University Student Athletic
Training Society
-
Mickey’s Hope Breast Cancer Fund Raiser
-
Neurofibromatosis Team
-
One Brick Organization
-
University of St. Thomas Crew Club
-
Woodbury High School Girl's Tennis Team
-
The New Face of Guatemala
-
Roseville Area High School Volleyball
Booster Club
-
Children's Lighthouse of MN
Our 2012 group volunteer charitable
donation recipients were:
-
Water Stop Number 1: College of St. Thomas Delta Sigma
-
Water Stop Number 2 & 5: Girls On The Run
-
Water Stop Number 3 & 4: Woodbury High School Girls Tennis
- St. Helena Church
- East Ridge High School Cheerleading Booster Club
Get in Gear also contributes a portion
of proceeds to the
VAMC Spinal Cord Injury & Disorder Center to help support
their mission and vision.
Second Harvest Heartland
The Get in Gear is
pleased to announce our seventh year of partnership with Second
Harvest Heartland
(
www.2harvest.org) to support them in their mission to fight
child hunger.
We are proud
to announce a fund matching program that will match donations given
by our participants and have now reached the $100,000.00 level of
matched donations since our partnership began in 2006. Please join
us as we continue to support the child hunger program.
Dollars donated will help support Second Harvest Heartland’s child
hunger programs. We feel that great impact can be made by our
participants and our organization to donate the dollars needed to
support these programs. Almost 45% of those that benefit from food
shelves are children and an estimated 1 in 10 children in Minnesota
live in poverty, while 1 in 3 qualify for free and reduced lunches
(based on low income guidelines). Supporting child hunger programs
is in alignment with our support of our 2K and Fit-For-Fun programs
in the schools of our greater metropolitan area.
In our first
year of matching contributions we are excited to report
we were
able to contribute almost $9000.00 and over
5000 pounds of food to
relieve hunger in our community.
The
generous
donations
made by
our
participants
were
matched
by Get in Gear
to
provide
meals
for
hungry
children,
teach
children
about
nutrition
and
healthy
eating,
and
staff a
nutrition
lending
library. Thank
you to
all who
made
this
happen!
It is our hope that
corporations and participants will join with us in supporting
this worthy cause as we continue to explore the avenues of support,
while at the same time continuing to support the Get in Gear mission
to provide the community with well organized runs for both adults
and children.
Not running...
but want to donate dollars to Second Harvest Heartland?
If you're not running, but wish to
donate to Second Harvest,
click here.
Get in Gear will match your donations dollar for
dollar up to $10,000.
The Get in Gear is
managed by a Board, Executive Director,
Race Operations Committee, a small
seasonal part-time office staff and hundreds of volunteers that
dedicate their time and energy to making the Get in Gear Minnesota's
Annual Rite of Spring.
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