The Dana Point Turkey Trot is pleased to roll out a youth running program leading up to and in conjunction with this year’s Thanksgiving Day race! 

Let’s get our kids moving, motivated and ready for the America’s Turkey Trot ®.  For 34 years the Dana Point Turkey Trot has become a family tradition and the kids race is one of the highlights of the event.  This year we are adding a program for kids of all ages to take part in!  Each child that registers for the Junior Turkey Trotter program will receive a special training t-shirt at the kick-off party, the official race t-shirt and goodie bag on race day, and a special medal upon completion of the program. 

WHO:           Children ages 5 – 12

WHAT:        Junior Turkey Trotters Program, Kids’ Gobble Wobble at the Dana Point Turkey Trot

WHEN:        The program kicks off at the end of September and continues through 11/24/11 (race day)

WHERE:      Children will accumulate mileage on their own, through school or through organized sports practices, totaling 25.2 miles.  The final mile of the program will be run at the Kids’ Gobble Wobble, part of the Dana Point Turkey Trot, 11/24/11.  They’ll be accumulating a total of 26.2 miles – that’s a marathon!

WHY:            Because it’s fun…  Because it’s healthy…  Because there’s extra swag for the kids! The Dana Point Turkey Trot helps raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.  For each dollar we give they can serve three meals!  Run knowing you are helping feed the hungry in Orange County.

HOW:             Register on line at www.turkeytrot.com.

• Registration will open for the Junior Turkey Trotter program in August and the cut-off date will be October 14, 2011. 
• Each participant will be responsible for charting their mileage on a special log created just for the Junior Turkey Trotter.  This log will need to be signed off by a parent, coach, and/or teacher
• In order to complete the program, each participant must accumulate 25.2 miles.  The final mile will be run at the Kids’ Gobble Wobble at the Dana Point Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, 11/24/11.
• There will be a kick-off party at Vivos Fitness in Dana Point to welcome all the participants, hand out running logs, give running tips and training advice, pass out special Junior Turkey Trotter training t-shirts, and sign the all important waivers!
• Each participant will also receive the official Dana Point Turkey Trot t-shirt and goodie bag at packet pick-up. 
• All participants that complete the program will receive a special Junior Turkey Trotter medal. 
• Each participant that completes the program will be invited to a race day VIP hospitality at Vivos Fitness. 

 For more information about the Dana Point Turkey Trot, please visit www.turkeytrot.com.

For more information about Vivos Fitness, located at 24941 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, CA 92629, please visit www.vivosfitness.com or call 949.388.7000.

Need quick access to information about Orange County–all in one convenient location? Take a look at Orange County Resource Guide.

Gift Giving is important part of our lives.  We have family, friends, and even clients that we wish to celebrate or share in a special occasion.  But for some of us, it becomes difficult to justify extravagances when so many have so little.  So what are we to do?

Practical gifts are never as compelling as those with the big WOW factor, but here is a practical gift that is MOST compelling because it will warm your heart in ways you never dreamed of.  Why?  It is truly the gift that keeps giving.  You’ve heard the saying, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and feed him for life.”  That statement spells out the spirit of giving at Heifer International  This organization’s mission is to give sustainable gifts to help those in need help themselves.  How you may ask?  Here’s just one example.

Christine Makahumure lost everything in the horrible genocidal war that ravaged Rwanda in 1994. When her family tried to flee the fighting, they were caught in a crossfire, and Christine watched in horror as her husband and son were shot down before her eyes.

For years afterward, Christine, her daughter Catherine, and her parents lived a life of barest subsistence. The family would shut themselves indoors from sunset to late morning the following day, due to lack of money, activity or friends. They never dared to hope for anything more in life.
But one day, Christine heard about an organization that was giving out cows. With little else to hope for, she applied. And soon after, Christine received her cow from Heifer International.
Christine’s humble home quickly became the center of the village’s attention, with a steady stream of neighbors and local officials coming by to see her cow. Her cow was treated so royally, in fact, that Christine named her “Royal Bride.”

Thanks to the nutritious milk Royal Bride provided, the health of Christine’s daughter and parents improved dramatically. And with the money she gained from selling Royal Bride’s milk, Christine was able to buy her parents a small home of her own.
 
Christine gave her first calf to a neighbor, fulfilling her Heifer commitment of Passing on the Gift. But she didn’t stop there. She gave her neighbors the money they needed to buy a shed, so that they too could apply for a cow from Heifer. Most amazingly, Christine also adopted four local children who had been orphaned by the war.

Christine is living proof of the life-changing difference an animal from Heifer can make in a community in desperate need of healing.  This Cows for Peace Project in Rwanda does more than just bring cows to the area. Heifer’s field staff introduce zero-grazing technology, so that participants can learn how to protect their land while managing their new livestock. Heifer staff also import improved breeds of cattle to ensure better offspring.

But perhaps most importantly, the Heifer cows have become rallying points of communal togetherness. As with Christine’s neighbors, different population groups now work together in “Family-Cow Cooperatives” that foster understanding and share knowledge.

In Rwanda, where only a decade ago neighbors were killing each other, this is a miraculous achievement.  For more information on Heifer International, Click HERE