The unseasonably nice weather this past week was a small gift to all of us as we finish out the strangest year in a very long time. As readers of this Y Monday Mission Update well know, we held our first-ever (and hopefully final!) virtual Turkey Trot Charity 5k last week in lieu of the traditional Thursday morning event in seven locations around central Maryland. Close to 4,000 runners, along with hundreds of generous sponsors and donors, pulled together to help us raise over $500,000 (before expenses) and contribute 60 bags of groceries for families in need. Those numbers are well shy of what we would’ve undoubtedly accomplished if COVID wasn’t such an omni-present part of our lives, but they’re remarkable nonetheless! Any time you can motivate several thousand people to do anything together in a virtual setting is certainly remarkable. Although we weren’t actually together, followers of social media got to see lots of people doing their trot, decked out in their cool royal blue shirts, many with goofy turkey and pilgrim touches, doing their part for the Y. Said one couple running through the city on Thanksgiving morning, "it's a tradition!"
I want to thank all of the Y volunteers, donors, sponsors and associates who made all this possible. In true Y fashion, and in the face of unprecedented obstacles, our Y community rallied and made it happen. Special thanks go to Y associates EJ Amyot, Deborah Crites, Lindsay Crone, Matt Freedman, Suzanne Greene, Megan Jones, Sara Milstein, Eric Somerville and Casey Wilson for diving in to reimagine this event and then manage the inevitable challenges of pulling it off virtually. They, along with our generous Y community, are a mighty force for good!
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland