Just Released
Hy-Vee, Pinky Swear Foundation Raise $882,000 for Children With Cancer and Their Families
10/12/2017WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee, Inc., in partnership with Pinky Swear Foundation, a national charitable organization that supports children with cancer and their families, announced today that its summer events have raised more than $882,000 from 4,331 participants to support the organization’s critical mission.
Over the last two years, the two organizations hosted Hy-Vee Pinky Swear Kids Triathlons in Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Kansas City, the Minneapolis area and Omaha. This year, instead of triathlons, children and families participated in Hy-Vee Pinky Swear 5K and Fun Runs — including a 1 mile or 1K fun run, a 5K run/walk and a fitness expo. The legacy Hy-Vee Pinky Swear Kids Triathlon in Chanhassen, Minnesota, also continued.
“We are excited to share the results of the inaugural Hy-Vee Pinky Swear 5K & Fun Run fitness events, and our legacy event, the Hy-Vee Pinky Swear Kids Triathlon,” said Erica Campbell, executive director of Pinky Swear Foundation. “We sincerely appreciate everyone in all of the communities who worked so hard to ensure the success of the six events—especially our mission partner, Hy-Vee. The money raised from registration fees, sponsorships and individual fundraisers is helping make a real impact to further our mission, which is to help kids with cancer.”
Rather than focus on competition, families of all fitness levels were encouraged to participate in the events to help raise money for kids with cancer and their families. The money raised will provide assistance for basic needs and experiences that create emotional support to impacted families.
“We are proud to once again partner with Pinky Swear Foundation to reaffirm our commitment to health and wellness while helping families facing cancer deal with financial struggles,” said Darin Hirl, director of sports marketing at Hy-Vee. “The fun run format increased accessibility for kids and families. We were pleased to see such a high participation rate in 2017.”
