Home / 2013 / November / Support Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive by joining the Turkey Trot

Support Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive by joining the Turkey Trot

To: UCSC Community

From: Sarah Latham, Vice Chancellor Business and Administrative Services and Co-Chair Second Harvest Food Bank Holiday Food Drive; Donna Blitzer, Director, Government and Community Relations; John Steele, Staff Advisory Board

November 12, 2013

As the holiday season approaches, it is time once again to support some of the important safety net of services in our county.  The Second Harvest Food Bank's Holiday Food Drive is one of the county's most important combined campaigns and the UCSC campus actively participates in this annual drive.

This year, we have been given a challenge.

In 2005, a group of people joined together to create a Thanksgiving day family fun run with the goal of raising money for worthy charities. That first year, 1900 people participated and $132,000 was raised for the three charities. Last year in 2012, there were 24,223 participants that raised $1.2 million for non-profits.

That simple family fun run has evolved into the annual Turkey Trot race in San Jose, but this year, for the first time, proceeds from the race are being offered to one of Santa Cruz County’s most important combined campaigns, Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive supporting 200 local non-profits agencies and programs. 

It would be great to see UCSC staff, students and faculty join an estimated 26,000 runners, walkers and wheel chair entrants on Thanksgiving morning.  Plantronics is a local sponsor and other Santa Cruz organizations, including UCSC, are part of the “fittest firm” competition to see which organization can get the most people from Santa Cruz County to sign up for this year’s Turkey Trot.

We need your help and leadership to register 1,000 racers from Santa Cruz County to raise $50,000 (200,000 healthy meals). Achieving this goal will help secure our place in this very effective fundraiser in the future.  100% of your $42 registration fee will go directly toward the 2013 UCSC Holiday Food Drive.  

1.      For information about this year’s Turkey Trot race and to REGISTER, please go to http://svturkeytrot.com/santacruz/

2.      Encourage as many of your associates and their families as you can to register for the Turkey Trot “Fittest Firm” competition by scrolling down and selecting “University of California Santa Cruz” under Fittest Firm. 

3.      Every Fittest Firm UCSC registration will be recorded at 168 meals towards our Slug Holiday Food Drive goal. 

Even if other obligations preclude running the race Thanksgiving morning, individuals can show their solidarity by registering anyway.  Even if you are not able to come to the race, please sign up anyway.  “Virtual runners” get the same cool gear as everyone else, which local Santa Cruz County residents will be able to pick up at Jerry's Sports on Wednesday, November 20, 3:30-6:30pm.

Every registration will feed a family for the next four months.