Health & Fitness
Latter-Day Saints to Host Food Drive to Benefit LINK
5k race and food drive to be held Saturday, November 5 at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston.
The Oakton Virginia Stake of the LDS Church, which is made up of eight congregations from Oakton to Herndon, will host a 5k race and food drive to benefit LINK Against Hunger programs. The event will be held Saturday, November 5 at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston.
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) sought all 28,660 congregations around the world to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the church welfare program by dedicating a day of service to the community.
The eight are organized geographically and include Herndon Ward, Reston Ward, Franklin Ward, Fair Oaks Ward, Chantilly Ward, Oak Marr Ward, Vienna Ward, Oakton Ward, and Spring Lakes Ward, which is a Spanish-speaking congregation.
Everyone is welcome to participate in the event, and participants are encouraged to bring at least five cans of food or $5 for their registration fee for the event. There also will be a 1-mile stroll for walkers and a 100-yard dash for kids. It will be held Saturday, November 5 at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston. Registration begins at 8:15 and events begin at 9 a.m. Donations will be accepted until 11 a.m. Fairfax Lake Park is located behind the Watermine Family Swimming Hole in Reston.
In addition to the donations that will be made by LDS members, President Scott Wheatley of the Oakton Virginia Stake authorized a $1000.00 food donation to LINK from the LDS Bishop's Storehouse, which is a component of the welfare program the Church is celebrating. This is the Church’s second $1,000 donation to the LINK Against Hunger programs.
The LDS Bishop's Storehouse is located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and serves the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area from about Fredericksburg, VA to Columbia, MD. The primary purpose of the storehouse is to distribute commodities to the poor and needy in 17 stakes (similar to a Catholic Diocese) as requested by Bishops of local congregations.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell recently complimented the LDS Church’s welfare program and issued a day of service proclamation for the Commonwealth of Virginia. So this event also supports this proclamation.
The Governor said, “2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Welfare Program which has improved the lives of countless individuals in our commonwealth, these United States and throughout the world and which should be a model to all organizations and faiths as we work together to build a true commonwealth of opportunity.”
Since 1985, the LDS church has donated $1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance in 178 countries.
For more information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints food drive to benefit LINK, contact LINK President at lisalombo@signaturecos.com, or Laurie Turner, Oakton Stake public affairs director at lauriesturner@aol.com.
