Reindeer Run and Santa come to Providence this weekend
December 5th, 2012 Posted in OpinionBy Dani Hayes
PROVIDENCE – The annual holiday food drive has been a tradition of the Youth Council for years but only recently has it turned into a vast holiday celebration for the whole city.
Included in the celebration is the annual Reindeer Run sponsored by Runners North, a local athletic-equipment business, and Santa Day organized by the youth council.
The race is Dec. 8 and starts at 10 a.m. outside the Old Rock Church. Rudolf will start the race and if runners are able to beat him to the finish line, they will win a prize. Following the race, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Santa will be at the city office building to continue the holiday festivities.
“Santa is going to give kids candy canes and let them sit on his lap,” said Sandra Checketts, the youth council’s advisor. “The race ends at the city offices and that’s where Santa will be.”
The council encourages those coming to bring a donation for the food pantry. During the month of November, the council has been collecting food for the Cache Community Food Pantry from the people of Providence. The day of the Reindeer Run and Santa Day will be the last day of the food drive.
“I think that the food drive and Santa will be a hit in the community,” said Megan Brown, mayor of the youth council. “The community is very supportive and willing to donate. We have seen great success with the food drive and Santa Day in the past. Just last year, Providence city donated over 5,000 pounds of food to the food pantry. I think that these events will hopefully continue to grow as we encourage even more participation from the community.”
This is the second year that Santa Day and the food drive have been paired with the Reindeer Run.
“Santa Day has been a tradition of the youth council for the last few years,” Brown said. The council and Runners North merged the two events together “with the idea of hopefully having more community participation.”
Runners can register for the Reindeer Run at www.runnersnorthonline.com.
NW
Tags: food pantry, Providence, Reindeer Run, Santa day, youth council
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