September 30, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 30, 2015
For more information, contact:
Lauren Miller
Moxley Carmichael
865-599-4050
Jason Altman
Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon
Executive Director
865-805-2476
Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon recently presented more than $15,000 in healthy living grants to the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, The Muse Knoxville, Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville and Knoxville Recreational Therapy Program.
The funds support healthy living initiatives in East Tennessee beyond the finish line to improve quality of life in the community through physical activity and healthy eating habits.
“We are pleased to be able to present four programs with checks in the Community Contribution Program’s second year,” said Jason Altman, race director for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. “We selected programs we know will positively impact the lives of Knoxvillians year round.”
Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon race director Jason Altman, second from left, on Sept. 28 presents more than $15,000 in healthy living grants to local nonprofits as part of the race’s Community Contribution Program. From left: Robert Hodge, director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum (KBGA); Altman; Jim Richards, executive director of KBGA; Lauren Lee, executive director of Knoxville Recreational Therapy; and Kelly Eldridge, executive director of Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville. Grant recipient not pictured: The Muse Knoxville.
The Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum received $8,799 to develop a one-mile trail around the perimeter of the gardens, which includes a water bottle filling station, two exercise stations and a play area for children.
The Muse Knoxville was awarded $2,500 to fund an iPad interactive “Eat and Move-O-Matic” to give children the opportunity to learn how to balance calorie input and output, which will be featured in their health and wellness children’s exhibit area, “Live Smart! Stay Well.”
Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville, a physical activity-based youth development program for girls, received a $2,750 grant for expansion into schools with greater socioeconomic challenges.
Knoxville Recreational Therapy Program received $1,250 to fund Boccia ball equipment to begin an adaptive program for those with physical, cognitive and/or developmental disabilities and veterans.
The Covenant Health Marathon and the Knoxville Track Club have a longstanding history of reinvesting in the community. From 2005 to 2015, $125,650 has been donated to support projects, including the placement of mile markers along local city and county greenways, the addition of trails in South Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness and a golf cart to patrol and clean the greenways. An additional $22,931 was given to the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center Innovative Recreation Cooperative, which encourages those with disabilities to pursue physical activity.
In addition to the Community Contribution Program, proceeds from the marathon continue to benefit the Knoxville Track Club’s youth athletics program and Patricia Neal’s Innovative Recreation Cooperative, as well as supporting additional charity sponsors, Variety’s Katerpillar Kids Camp and Thompson Cancer Survival Center Foundation.
For additional information, please visit www.knoxvillemarathon.com.
The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is a premier event organized by the Knoxville Track Club, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the encouragement of physical well-being through physical well-being through running and walking.
Maria Cornelius
