The Portsmouth, Ohio Salvation Army is gearing up to host their first local Circle of Hope 5K. The event is being held in conjunction with the 76th Annual National Donut Day.
Mark Ferreira, Commanding Officer of The Salvation Army, said the 5k is open to all, and is being held in conjunction with National Donut Day observance on Saturday, June 8, 2013, at 9 a.m.
“Its a 5k event, with running and walking categories. There will also be a one mile race and a Healthy Kids Run afterwards. On Friday, June 7, is National Donut Day, and as it turns out, National Donut Day and Salvation Army are tied together in a unique way,” Ferreira said.
He said National Donut Day was established in 1938 by The Salvation Army and pays tribute to The Salvation Army women volunteers, called “Lassies,” who prepared donuts for the soldiers during World War I.
According Ferreira, the Lassies made donuts using on-hand ingredients such as leftover flour using soldiers’ steel helmets as frying pans.
“The Salvation Army Lassies, they were called over to Europe and they were trying to care for the soldiers that were fighting on the front line,” Ferreira said.
Ferreira said donuts were popularized in the United States when soldiers returned home.
“At that time donuts were not popular in the United States but when the men came home from war, they were looking for donuts, because they got hooked on them during the war,” he said.
Ferreira said all of the bakeries started making donuts as a result of the demand.
“So in the ‘30s The Salvation Army started observing National Donut Day. There are observances all over the country for it. So, for us locally, we thought, well we can have our Donut Run: Circles of Hope 5k,” Ferreira said.
Ferreira said The Salvation Army hopes to provide donuts to the 5k participants.
“We are expecting to have a lot of fun. The route is just like the Bear Run down by the floodwall,” Ferreira said.
The June 8, 2013, schedule for the Circle of Hope 5k will be:
Registration at 8 a.m.
Race will begin at 9 a.m.
Free Healthy Kids Run at 9:45 a.m.
Awards at 10 a.m.
All activities will convene on Front Street in Portsmouth. Registration fees consist of $20 before June 1, $25 the day of the race. Special groups of 10 for $10 each. For more information call The Salvation Army at 740-353-2400, or visit http://www.tristateraces.com.
Ferreira said all proceeds collected from the 5k event will go directly toward their food operations.
“We are serving about 1,000 meals per week, with our partnership with The Father’s Table ministry, and our community meals, and our food pantry which provides food for hundreds of families,” Ferreira said.
Source: Portsmouth Daily Times - Circle of Hope
