June 26, 2017. Louisville, KY. – The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Charity Module Program raised nearly $200,000 in 2017 for local charities. 30 different charitable organizations benefitted from the program by having individual runners and running teams participate in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon presented by Walmart and Humana on April 29. The Charity Module has raised over $2.5 million since its inception in 2005.
The charities will be recognized at a luncheon on Thursday, June 29, at the Hunting Creek 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 2017 Charity Module Program.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, 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. 2017 was the third consecutive year JDRF participated in the program, and they raised nearly $30,000.
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. Malia Hurst from the JDRF will serve as the guest speaker.
The following organizations were Official Charity Partners of the 2017 KDF road races: Active Heroes, Inc., Alzheimer’s Association, American Printing House for the Blind, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, Camp Quality Kentuckiana, Catholic Charities of Louisville – Human Trafficking Program, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, Cure CF Inc., Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT), Gilda’s Club, Girls on the Run Louisville, Hope Scarves, House of Ruth, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation, Jill’s Wish Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Kentucky Animal Relief Fund, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Noah’s Styling for UofL Pediatric Oncology Clinic, Parkinson Support Center, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana, Summit Academy, Teach for America, The Lord’s Kitchen, The Molly Johnson Foundation, The Shamrock Pet Foundation, Twisted Pink and WaterStep.
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.
