Community Center staff readies for annual Thanksgiving Day Run and Food Drive
As locals truss up their plans for a fast-approaching Thanksgiving, staff members at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge are prepping for their own holiday tradition — the annual Thanksgiving Day Run and Food Drive.
Now in its 23rd year, the Thursday morning holiday event features a professionally timed 5K adult run/walk beginning at 8:30 a.m. with a 1-mile race for kids aged 12 and under at 9:30 a.m. Registration proceeds go directly to the operation of Community Center programs, according to Executive Director Maureen Bond.
“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Bond said of the race, which supports programs for children, adults and seniors. “It really is a community event. We’ve got families where this is a tradition within a tradition.”
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La Cañada Flintridge City Councilman Len Pieroni, for example, has already registered for this year’s race, along with wife Brenda, son Lenny and daughter Allison, who’s coming home from her freshman year at the University of Notre Dame to celebrate Thanksgiving.
“I remember pushing the kids in strollers,” Pieroni said of what’s become a family tradition on years when everyone’s in town. “It’s a great time to see your neighbors and get outside.”
Some among the councilman’s clan will do the full run, while others will walk and talk with friends. After the festivities, the group will head over to the Pieroni home for a champagne brunch spread to celebrate the season of gratitude before families go off to their individual plans.
“We just do that as an early get-together before all the craziness (of the holiday) starts, just to say hi and have a nice Thanksgiving together,” Pieroni said.
In addition to running the adult and child courses, participants are asked to bring a food donation to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Crescenta Valley Station. All donated goods go directly to some 155 previously identified area families in need.
In preparation for the event, food collection bins have already been put out at the community center, Gelson’s Market, Flintridge Pharmacy and Ross Dress for Less, which is a presenting sponsor of the event.
“It’s a day about fun and it’s a day about thanks and gratitude,” Bond said. “I’m very thankful we have this.”
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The 23rd annual Thanksgiving Run and Food Drive takes place Nov. 24, at Memorial Park, 1327 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada. The cost for participants who register by Nov. 22 is $35 for adults and $15 for children under 12. Those who sign up after that, or on the day of the race, may register for $40 per adult, or $20 per child. To sign up, visit cclcf.org and click on the “Thanksgiving Run” tab at the top. To learn more about becoming a sponsor or volunteering during the event, call (818) 790-4353 or email amanda@cclcf.org.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
