ATLANTA – November 20, 2014 – Atlanta Track Club, the organizer of the Atlanta Half Marathon, and Atlanta Mission are teaming up this holiday season to collect “a ton of clothing” to keep Atlanta’s homeless warm. Participants of the Atlanta Half Marathon events on Thanksgiving Day are being asked to donate gently-used shirts, pants and shoes, with a goal of gathering one ton, or 2,000 lbs., of clothing.
All donated items will be distributed to those in the care of Atlanta Mission, the city’s largest and longest-running provider of services to homeless men, women and children. Established in 1938, Atlanta Mission provides emergency shelter, temporary shelter, recovery programming, job attainment and transitional housing for more than 950 men, women and children daily.
“Simple items like a gently-used shirt or pair of running shoes can make a big impact on those we serve at Atlanta Mission,” said Jim Reese, president and CEO of Atlanta Mission. “We are delighted to partner with Atlanta Track Club on what we know will be a successful clothing drive.”
Participants of the Atlanta Half Marathon events have two options to make a donation; clothing can be dropped off at participating Big Peach Running Co. locations during packet pickup or worn as warm-up clothing on race day and shed at the start of the race. Atlanta Track Club will collect all clothing discarded on race day to be cleaned and donated.
“Giving back to the community through which we run is an important tradition of Atlanta Track Club,” said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s executive director. “We’re offering our participants an easy way to donate items they don’t need, and we’re confident our more than 10,000 participants will help us reach our goal of providing a ton of clothing to Atlanta Mission.”
The Atlanta Half Marathon, Thanksgiving Day 5K, Mashed Potato Mile and Gravy Gallop will take place on Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 27 at Turner Field. Online registration is available until 11:59 PM Thursday, November 20. Registration is also available onsite during packet pickup at the Brookhaven and Alpharetta Big Peach Running Co. locations.
For more information on the Atlanta Half Marathon, visit atlantahalfmarathon.org.
About Atlanta Track Club
Atlanta Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates, inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With more than 21,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org) – the largest 10K running event in the world and the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K (atlantahalfmarathon.org), Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through Atlanta Track Club’s All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.