Haines trying to ‘Feed our Future’
Derek Haines, ‘The Old Man’ of Cayman’s marathon runners, will be doing it again.
Running.
And it won’t be for free.
Haines will be trying to raise monies for the ‘Feed our Future Cayman Islands’ summer meals programme.
The ‘Feed our Future Cayman Islands’ summer meals programme provides local kids at least one decent meal a day when school is on break as so many of them are dependent on school lunches.
The veteran runner, who will be over 65 in October will be taking part in the Cayman Marathon on December 1st and is looking for sponsors so he can give CI$30,000 to the local charity.
He said the ‘Feed our Future’ project needs in the region of CI$30Ks based on a target of making available weekly grocery credit or goods valued at up to $50 for 50 plus children’s families to implement the summer programme.
Sponsors will be able to have their names emblazoned on his body – actually his shirt – as he runs the marathon.
He added, “A company that invests $5,000 will be recognised in the local media and in other advertisements, including the Feed our Future website. He said it was also an excellent PR tool for companies, which will be associated with a very good cause.
“For individuals, and as an added incentive, for each pledge of $25 a guess of Haines’ finishing time can be made and the winner will receive six bottles of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin for the closest guess.”
To help people guess, Haines said his fastest time is 2hrs 59mins. However, that was 27 years ago. Last year he finished in just over 4 hours!
Haines is already training for the marathon.
Stacey Vandevelde, Chairwoman of ‘Feed Our Future’ said:
“For Feed our Future our mission is simple, to provide children in need school meals.
“In fact over 15% of the enrolled Government School population for the Cayman Islands are being provided assisted lunches. Many more children in our schools, both public and private, are in need, their families have just not asked for, or received the help. A large number of Cayman’s teachers report that they regularly purchase food for students in their classroom who are not getting enough to eat at home. Every child needs nutritious food. If children do not eat they cannot learn, they cannot behave to expectation, they will not remain healthy. A hungry child is at risk. It is that simple. Our families need help. Our children need food.
“Everyone needs a little help sometime. Look deeper and when you find hunger, do something to help. Your donations will make a difference in the lives of these children and their families, and ultimately to our society. We look forward to your support of our work towards a hunger free Cayman Islands.”
“On average teachers report spending $25 a month of their own money on the purchase of food for their classroom.”
To know more about the charity go to:
http://feedourfuturecayman.org/chairwomans-message/#.UjMs47zPNi4
