Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Runners...take your mark, get set - SHOP!

T-minus three days until holiday shopping season pandemonium…fear not, runners are prepared!

Your race training will give you an edge in the sprint for the last Elf on the Shelf. Your endurance work will help you schlep across the lot in sub-zero temps hauling more bags than are in Santa’s own sleigh. And, those extra miles you ran just for fun will help keep holiday cookies and spirits from invading your waistline.

If your shopping pursuits lead you to Amazon.com, you can support the Hartford Marathon Foundation just by doing what you’re already doing! HMF is now an official AmazonSmile charitable organization, which means that for every purchase you make on Amazon through smile.amazon.com, 0.5% of the purchase price will be donated to the Hartford Marathon Foundation.

It’s the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate to HMF when you log in through smile.amazon.com, select us a your charity and make your normal purchases. Use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile; your shopping cart, wish lists and account settings are also the same.

Because we produce events, many people don’t realize how donations benefit a non-profit like HMF. Entry fees only cover about 75% of event costs. We depend on sponsorship and donations to provide the balance. Our youth programs, beginner training programs and charity partners as well as the communities our events take place in depend on this support.

Why support HMF?
Our youth programs are either totally free (like the HMF FitKids in School program which serves nearly 4,000 students and is completely supported by grants and donations) or just about free (the cost to participate is less per child than it costs us for the entry - any child under the age of 18 pays only $10 to run any FitKids event or HMF 5K).

Ever participate in our beginner 5K training programs? It costs participants $3 a week to get off the couch and start running. We don’t want price to be anybody’s excuse not to get fit with us, and donations help us fund these programs.

Of course, nothing we do could be accomplished without volunteers. From training coaches and race day volunteers to youth program supporters, volunteers are the reason HMF can produce all these events. These volunteers are dedicated to helping our non-profit organization succeed!

Thanks, as always, for your incredible support. Happy shopping!