CONCORD, NH – Whether budgets are tight or you’re in college, most of us have experienced more than a few nights eating Ramen noodles or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It happens to most everyone, and when we break the trend it’s all too easy to forget the less fortunate ones who can’t.
Soup kitchens and shelters all across the country look for volunteers, donations and any help they can find to ease the burdens on those who cannot adequately supply themselves with food. And on a daily basis, most of us don’t actively choose to be involved with their efforts. But the NHTI cross country teams think about it every year, even if some of them may be going through those college pains themselves. It’s what makes their charitable efforts mean even more.
NHTI’s cross country team has hosted the “Friendly Kitchen 5K” every year for the past seven years to benefit the Friendly Kitchen, a local soup kitchen that feeds so many of the less fortunate in the Concord, NH area. The event has become a large part of the cross country team’s early season preparation, and this year’s event, held September 6, raised a record of more than $10,000 and saw nearly 350 participants.
The event also helped the Friendly Kitchen recover from a fire that damaged its former home in 2011. After considerable fundraising and charitable efforts, the Friendly Kitchen opened back up in December 2012 with help from the NHTI race.
While sponsorships contribute to the overall fundraising effort and the donations help tremendously, NHTI added another “entry fee.” Race participants are asked to bring food donations to the event to help stock the Friendly Kitchen.
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The Friendly Kitchen 5K organizers always had a passion for helping those in need, but the fundraising wasn’t easy when the race first began. Head cross country coach Tom Walton started the race to benefit a client of his, Hope Zanes Butterworth, who just so happened to be the president of the Friendly Kitchen at the time.
“I wanted to do something nice and charitable in the name of NHTI cross country,” says Walton, who still serves as the head coach but has passed the responsibilities of race director to assistant coach Perry Seagroves.
“I handed over the reins to Perry because I am involved with roughly two dozen other races,” adds Walton. “These races also raise funds and awareness for various charitable causes, so I felt like I was overextending myself.”
The first event raised a little more than $1,500 and had two sponsors. Tom Raffio, President and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental agreed to sponsor the timing services and also allowed the use of its facilities to host the race. The event featured just fewer 90 runners, and while it was a success, Seagroves knew the event could grow.
“[When Tom stepped down] as race director, my wife Suzy volunteered me to be the race director,” says Seagroves. “I made two changes. First, we moved the race to our campus and second I made the NHTI cross country team the official host of the event.”
From there the event took off. Local businesses slowly recognized the growing event, and with that donations increased slowly each year, with the 2013 race totaling 14 local sponsorships. The event has also taken modest prizes and made them a part of the race tradition. NHTI boasts the largest raffle of any race in the area, featuring gift certificates, a giant container of cheese balls and perhaps the most popular of raffle items, Perry’s wife’s hand-knitted winter hats--because who doesn’t need a winter hat to run in New Hampshire? It’s a nice touch and the “runners love to win them,” says Walton. But prizes don’t stop there.
“We have three prizes in each category. Third prize is a soup bowl with a package of Ramen noodles; second prize is a bowl and a small can of soup; and first prize is the bowl and a large can of soup,” adds Seagroves. “We usually have some type of gift certificates also. These prizes and the unique raffle items always get some good laughs.”
COLLEGE SPIRIT
The event has become so popular even other local college sports teams take part in the race. USCAA member Nashua Community College runs against the Lynx each year, and the New England College hockey team uses the race as a pre-camp tune-up.
“The school team that is always most noticeable is the New England College hockey team,” says Seagroves. “Their coach uses our race as a beginning of the year conditioning and bonding event.”
Seagroves especially enjoys hosting the hockey team, as several players hail from Finland. Seagroves, who is Finnish himself, brings a few loaves of Finnish coffee bread and pulla, a Finnish sweet roll, for the Finnish players to enjoy after the race. However, that may not be his most memorable encounter with the hockey players.
“Two years ago on race day I asked one of my student volunteers to go to the store and get some more fruit,” says Seagroves. The volunteer heard “food” and brought back several bags of chips. “I thought to myself, ‘what runner would want to eat chips after running in some heat?’ I found my answer—it’s hockey players.”
ADDED GRATIFICATION
The event has even sparked an additional charitable cause for the NHTI cross country team. Near the end of the season the team participates in a can run where each team member brings two cans of food. They then run to the nearby homeless settlement and give the cans of food to the people there. It helps serve as a reminder to the student-athletes that there is always someone less fortunate.
“Our runners are amazed to see people living in tents,” adds Seagroves. “These two events really make our young runners think about how unfortunate some people are in this world. Hopefully this gives them a little bit of a social conscience.”
Walton echoes that sentiment. “Our kids are hard-working, blue collar types who have a great deal of empathy for less fortunate folks,” he says. “These two events are fun and gratifying for all involved.”
The two runs have become tradition for NHTI’s cross country teams, and the added benefit of teaching kindness and compassion have driven the success of the event over the years. And while the greater good is served and the purpose of the “Friendly Kitchen 5K” has been to benefit those in need, Seagroves also enjoys seeing the smiles on the faces of new runners, namely the kids participating in the Children’s Fun Run, a short race held during the 5K. It’s just one more thing that makes the event so memorable for so many, especially Seagroves.
“The kids chase me for a quarter of a mile, get a high five from our mascot, and then get awarded a medal and a toy. I can picture the smiles on their faces when all of this happens—they see that running can be fun.”
Fun charity. Now that’s something we can all get behind.