Dallas Marathon Makes Commitment To Charity

DALLAS – The MetroPCS Dallas Marathon Health & Fitness Committeeapproved support of three new initiatives kicking off this month: an $18,000 grant to Back on My Feet sponsoring a new training program at the Dallas Veterans Affairs facility, a $10,000 grant to the Cigna Mayor’s Race 5K and Fun Run presented by Oncor, and a $6,000 grant to the National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA) to develop an outreach program in minority communities.

“Our mission is to further the progress of developing the health and fitness of the local Dallas community,” said Kevin Snyder, chairman of the Dallas Marathon board of trustees. “Each initiative that we chose to fund in 2012 is positioned to motivate the Dallas community to maintain healthy lifestyle choices. We are excited to see how these programs develop in years to come.”

Interested organizations applied for grants made available through the Dallas Marathon Health & Fitness Committee.

The Dallas Marathon awarded $18,000 to Back on My Feet to sponsor a new training team at the Veterans Affairs facility, which launched on Veterans Day in November. Back on My Feet is a national nonprofit that came to Dallas in February 2011 and promotes the self-sufficiency of the homeless population through running-based programs. Their newest training team is composed of veterans living in a transitional housing facility in south Dallas. The participants run together with volunteers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:45 a.m.

“We are so grateful to the Dallas Marathon for making our fourth and newest training team a reality,” saidLea Velez, executive director for Back on My Feet Dallas-Fort Worth. “Our veterans are very much looking forward to tackling their first running milestones, one mile at a time.

Additional funds were allocated toward the Cigna Mayor’s Race 5K Presented by Oncor to further promote and enhance the runner experience. Cigna employees have also volunteered on Saturdays to participate in training runs with students at DISD’s Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School.

The Dallas Marathon awarded a grant to the NBMA to pursue a new venture, training running coaches in an effort to develop new runner programs in minority communities. The NBMA has selected 10 individuals to enter a coaching clinic to learn how to train amateur runners. The NBMA expects the training program will eventually attract hundreds of African-Americans to meet at White Rock Lake to run together once a week.

“Our goal is to encourage as many African-Americans as possible to start running,” said NBMA executive director Tony Reed. “I’ve been a longtime participant in the Dallas Marathon and think this is a fantastic opportunity to benefit minorities in our community and also grow our partnership with the marathon.”