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Mayflower Marathon breaks record

Date: 12/9/2008

By Ayo Babatunde

Staff Intern



SPRINGFIELD Thanks to hundreds of patrons, Mayflower Marathon 2008 wasn't just a success; it set a record.

This year's goal was to fill three 48-foot trailers with non-perishable food donations for the Open Pantry of Springfield. With the generosity of local residents and businesses (including Big Y World Class Markets and Capital Moving & All points Mayflower) food donations surpassed the goal and nearly filled a fourth trailer.

Alex Byrne, Promotions and Marketing Director for Rock 102 and principal organizer for the Mayflower Marathon said, "We set a record for the event this year...This is the largest total that we have ever raised for the Open Pantry."

The Mayflower Marathon is an annual tradition that has been in place for over a decade. The marathon food drive is hosted by WAQY-FM, Rock 102's Bax and O'Brien, at the Basketball Hall of Fame during the three days before Thanksgiving.

According to Byrne the food drive raised almost $80,000 in food donations for Springfield's Open Pantry Community Services.

Kevin Noonan, Open Pantry's Executive Director said, "It was a record breaking year. We wish we could get people to donate at this at this level all the time, but we take it when it comes."

Noonan continued, "Springfield ranks nationally as the 6th poorest city for children. With that shameful statistic I think the people who respond to the Mayflower Marathon are people who want to see a different community than what is often portrayed."

Given today's economic environment, Noonan said that the outpouring of support was not much of a surprise. "I've been doing this for 19 years. It's my experience that when people realize that things are bad for them, they often think of how much worse things must be for others. I think people tend to be more generous when the economy isn't doing so well," he said.

The success of the food drive comes at a crucial time for Open Pantry. Cuts to Open Pantry's operating budget, implemented earlier this year, have devastated the organization which is already starved for funds.

Noonan said, "All of the food collected during the food drive will go to the Emergency Food Pantry." The Emergency Food Pantry provides four days worth of groceries to families and individuals in the Springfield area on an emergency basis. Over 50% of the population served are children.

Noonan added, "With the food collected, we have enough food to last us till the end of March or beginning of April (2009). What we don't have are regular volunteers to assist our staff with distributing this food because we don't have enough money to pay staff. With the help of volunteers we could more easily accommodate those coming in to use our services."

For more information on programs or volunteering to help serve the Christmas meal, please visit www.openpantry.org or (413) 737-5537 for the Holiday Meals volunteer hotline. Financial donations may be sent to Open Pantry Community Services, Inc. P.O. Box 5127 Springfield, MA 01101-5127.