FORT MYERS, Fla. (Mar. 23, 2021) – The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis held the 13th annual BUG Chase 5K run as a virtual format for their 2021 fundraiser raising over $7,500. The race benefited the Fort Myers-Metro Kiwanis Club’s BUG (Bring Up Grades) program and other local club sponsored youth service projects. There were over 100 registered individuals who participated from local race routes to those as far away as Michigan. The race was supported by RunSignUp with the RaceJoy app and was supervised by the Fort Myers Track Club. Race sponsors included Passarella & Associates and Weinstein Wilkes Financial Group.
The run was featured in a two-page spread in the March edition of the Kiwanis International magazine, which is distributed worldwide. The story featured the club’s innovation during the pandemic of switching to a virtual run, and keep up the important fundraiser to help children in Southwest Florida.
Jeff O’Coin of DeLand won overall male with a time of 23:43 and Stacy Vu of Casselberry won overall female with a time of 26:39. Full race results and photos can be found at ftmyerstrackclub.com. Photos from the race can be found on the Fort Myers-Metro Kiwanis Club’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Metro.McGregorKiwanis)
“The race was even more important this year to keep going as a revenue source for our much-needed community projects, said race chair Rachel Toomey, “We are so thankful to our 26 business and individual race sponsors and all the race participants- near and far.”
All proceeds benefit the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis BUG (Bring Up Grades) program, designed to provide recognition to local elementary students who raise their grades to an acceptable range and maintain or continue to raise them from one grading period to the next, and other local club sponsored youth service projects. The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis currently has BUG programs at Littleton Elementary School, Orangewood Elementary School and Rayma C. Page Elementary School.
The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis Club also supports the following sponsored leadership programs: Aktion Club at LARC, Circle K International (CKI) at Florida Gulf Coast University, Key Club at FSW Collegiate High, Builders Club at Cypress Lake Middle and K-Kids at Littleton Elementary. The club built multi-sensory rooms at Tropic Isles Elementary, NFM Academy for the Arts, Heights Elementary and Rayma C. Page Elementary. The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis supplies every fourth grader at the following schools with a world atlas: Rayma C. Page Elementary, Heights Elementary, Orangewood Elementary and Littleton Elementary. The club built and supports a reading oasis and reading mentoring program at Orangewood Elementary.
The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis club supports many other organizations including the SWFL MS Support Group, Pine Manor Improvement Association, March of Dimes, The Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care, Early Learning Coalition, Children’s Advocacy Center, Healthy Start SWFL, United Way, Lee, Hendry, Glades & Okeechobee and more.
For more information regarding the 13th annual Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis BUG Chase, please contact Rachel Toomey at Rachel.Toomey33@gmail.com.
The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis is looking for more service-minded individuals and business professionals who would like to make a direct impact on the community through volunteering. Meetings are currently being held virtually every Tuesday. For details on joining the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis, please call membership chair Linda Petrik at (239) 357-2053. Interested individuals or businesses can also email linda3petrik@gmail.com. The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis can be found on Facebook or online at www.metro-mcgregor.com.
