June 15, 2015. Louisville, KY. – The 2015 Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Charity Module Program has something to celebrate. The program officially surpassed $2 million raised since the program’s inception in 2005. 32 different charitable organizations raised over $300,000 this year by having individual runners and running teams participate in the 2015 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon presented by Walmart and HumanaVitality on April 25.
The charities will be recognized at a luncheon on Tuesday, June 16, at the Audubon Country Club at 11:30 a.m. A check will be presented to all organizations for the monies they raised over the course of the 2015 Charity Module Program.
Hope Scarves, a Louisville charity created to capture the stories of courageous women who have battled cancer, will also be recognized as the “Charity of Year” for this year’s program. The “Charity of the Year” is determined by the best charity to administer the program through recruitment, retention and fundraising. 2015 was the second consecutive year Hope Scarves participated in the program, and the second time they have received the “Charity of the Year” award. They raised more than $60,000 in 2015.
Coverage Note: The luncheon event is open to the media. It will begin at 11:30 a.m.; the check presentation will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m. Lara MacGregor, the Founder of Hope Scarves, will be the guest speaker.
The following organizations were Official Charity Partners of the 2015 KDF road races: Alzheimer’s Association – Greater KY and SI Chapter, ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, American Printing House for the Blind, American Red Cross – Louisville Chapter, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, Boys & Girls Haven, Bridgehaven Mental Health Services, Children’s Hospital Foundation, Colon Cancer Prevention Project, Deion Branch Foundation, Gilda’s Club, Girls on the Run Louisville, Hand in Hand Ministries, Harbor House of Louisville, Home of the Innocents, Hope Scarves, House of Ruth, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, John R. Elliot HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Kentucky and Southern Indiana Stroke Association, Kentucky Animal Relief Fund, Kentucky Hemophilia Foundation, Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Orphan Care Alliance, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana, Seven Counties Services, Teach for America, The Molly Johnson Foundation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, Youth for Christ Greater Louisville.
The charities were assisted by the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, the Derby Festival’s charitable arm. The KDF Foundation established criteria for organizations to be recognized as Official Charity Partners of the races and Foundation board members and volunteers were assigned as liaisons to help coordinate the fund-raising efforts.
The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, a 501 C 3 not-for- profit charity, receives and manages charitable contributions on behalf of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Inc., its supporters and the general public. The Foundation perpetuates the Festival’s impact on the community by developing projects that highlight the Festival’s influence on the area’s cultural heritage. It works to further the Festival’s educational and charitable mission through exhibitions and performances.
