BREMERTON — Meals on Wheels Kitsap announced it will produce the 36th Annual Whale of a Run. The run/walk event will be held on Saturday, July 30, as a part of Silverdale’s annual Whaling Days Festival.
“We’re excited to be a part of this annual community festival and look forward to working with the Whaling Days Committee,” said Deborah Horn, Meals on Wheels executive director.
Hospice of Kitsap County coordinated the Whale of a Run as the event beneficiary since its inception in 1980. Last October, Hospice notified the Whaling Days Committee that it no longer would do the run and the committee sought a new local nonprofit partner. Meals on Wheels Kitsap, who was looking to produce a run/walk fundraising event, contacted Whaling Days about taking the reins of the 2016 run.
Horn stated Meals on Wheels Kitsap is working with Greg Chapman, the original director of the Whale of a Run. This year’s race will offer a 4-mile run, a 1-mile run/walk and kids’ dashes.
Since 1973, Meals on Wheels Kitsap has provided a nutritional and social lifeline for Kitsap County residents, aged 60 or more years, through healthy and nutritious meals served at eight community dining sites and directly delivered to homebound seniors. With the help of over 100 volunteers, the nonprofit organization now serves nearly 65,000 meals each year.
Proceeds from the Whale of the Run will benefit Meals on Wheels Kitsap’s home-delivered meals program which provides healthy, nutritious meals, friendly visits, safety checks and more to homebound seniors throughout Kitsap County.
“This vital service meets a critical need in our community, allowing many seniors to continue to live independently in their homes,” Horn said.
For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelskitsap.org or call 360-377-8511.
— Edited by Michelle Beahm