Vancouver, WA – Despite the challenges of hosting events during a global pandemic, WHY Community, through their relationship with Why Racing Events, was able to gift 2052 free race entries to various At-Risk groups including Kids, Veterans, and Breast Cancer Survivors.
Sherri McMillan, the founder of Why Community explains: “the individuals we serve need to focus on their health and fitness, now more than ever. We love getting kids off their electronic devices and showing them that exercise and healthy living can be fun! We love helping veterans who are struggling with PTSD or Breast Cancer survivors trying to regain their physical strength. Finishing a challenging race positively impacts your entire life physically, mentally and emotionally and we are so honored to be able to offer this opportunity to so many in our community. We experience so much joy watching these individuals cross the finish line who may not have done so otherwise.”
Why Racing Events, owned by Karissa Schoene, produces various events throughout Washington and Oregon and offers Why Community discounted race entries to fulfill their mission. “We are very pleased to work with Why Community and offer this opportunity to so many at-risk groups. It makes our events special and we’re so happy to know that our events are so much more than just a race,” comments Schoene.
In addition, WHY Community offers complimentary registrations to various local non-profits who provide the registrations to their supporters and the individuals they serve. These registrations are used to raise funds for the Non-profit’s cause and programs through peer-to-peer fundraising. Through these initiatives, $135,201.24 was raised in 2021 for various local non-profits including Police Activities League, Pink Lemonade Project, Share, the Jaime Miller Cancer Compassion Fund, Our City Cares and various others. Karissa Schoene adds “the fact that our fun runs and triathlons can raise so many donations and do so much good in our community is about as rewarding as it gets!”
About Why Community:
Why Community is a Non-Profit 501-©(3) founded in 2017 with a mission to provide at-risk populations with the opportunity to register and cross the finish line of various runs and multi-sport events. The ultimate goal is to positively impact physical fitness, mental health, self-esteem and a belief that anything can be accomplished. Since the launch, Why Community has gifted 8020 free race entries to various at-risk groups and has helped raise $2,061,190 for various non-profits. Funding for the WHY Community initiatives result from Business and Individual donations. To donate and/or find more information about Why Community, visit https://whycommunity.org/
