June 25, 2019. Louisville, KY. – The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Charity Module Program raised over $124,000 in 2019 for local charities. 27 different charitable organizations benefitted from the program by having individual runners and running teams participate in the 2019 Humana Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon and Marathon on April 27. The Charity Module has raised over $2.7 million since its inception in 2005.
The charities will be recognized at a luncheon on Wednesday, June 26, at the Kentucky Derby Festival Office at 11:30 a.m. A check will be presented to all organizations for the money they raised over the course of the 2019 Charity Module Program.
The Parkinson Support Center will be recognized as “Charity of the Year” for 2019, which is determined by the best charity to administer the program through recruitment, retention and fundraising. The Parkinson Support Center is an independent, grassroots non-profit organization, dedicated to providing access to care, education, and social assistance to patients and families affected by Parkinson’s Disease in Kentucky and Indiana. 2019 was the fourth consecutive year Parkinson Support Center participated in the program. The group has raised more than $25,000 since first getting involved.
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.
The following organizations were Official Charity Partners of the 2019 Derby Festival road races: A Place to Sleep, Adelante Hispanic Achievers, ALSAC St. Jude, Bahkita Empowerment Initiative, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, Centerstone, Critically Loved, Cure CF, Inc., Gilda’s Club, Hope Scarves, House of Ruth, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Kentucky Refugee Ministries, KFC Foundation, Kids Cancer Alliance, Kosair Charities, Make-a-Wish Ohio, KY and IN, Noah’s Styling, Northeast YMCA Livestrong, Parkinson Support Center, Rettsyndrome.org, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana, Teach for America, The Lord’s Kitchen, The Molly Johnson Foundation, The Shamrock Pet Foundation, 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.
