runDisney Charity Spotlight: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is the celebrated charity of the 2024 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.

When we first met, nearly 14 years ago, we connected on many things, but mostly our love for service to others. Brett served as a Marine during one of our nation's most challenging military periods, and continues to support the mission of protecting our country in his civilian career. I was raised with a deep empathy for those around me, and to appreciate that everyone is at a different place, with different resources. We both recognize that our parents worked hard, and were, at times, on the razor's edge of being able to provide for their families. As I say, we had what we needed, but not always what we wanted. Both of our sets of parents lived the example of service to others, deeply rooting our altruistic natures.

As we've grown together and been fortunate in our careers, our desire to support our neighbors has only deepened. During the pandemic, I was laid off from a job in Texas, and Brett's once-successful entrepreneurial endeavors took a hard hit, along with a struggling airline industry. We made the decision to move to Central Florida, and were lucky enough to find jobs within several months. That first holiday season, thanks to my employer's generosity, I received a bonus check. It wasn't huge, but we resolved that half of it would go to the food bank, which was still meeting unprecedented levels of demand due to the economic conditions created by the pandemic. It was through this donation that I found the Young Professionals.

Over the past 4 years, my involvement with the Young Professionals has grown into something we didn’t initially foresee. The camaraderie with like-minded individuals joining together to network and serve our central Florida community has been a continuation of what we hope will be a lifetime of giving. That group has been a constant source of encouragement and the passion for the work has grown exponentially with the birth of our two children.

We are running this year to raise money for Second Harvest, of course, but running together has opened up a new way for our family to connect and care for each other. On Saturday mornings, we load the kids in the jogging stroller and take turns pushing it through the neighborhood. It is our hope that our legacy for our children will be one of caring for yourself and others, continuous improvement, and of course, a little magic.

We’ve always challenged each other to be better. Through all the chaos of career and children, getting out and running together has been a fun way to reconnect on a level from earlier in our relationship. We’re thankful to be in a place of health, happiness, and abundance to share with our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Parents and children need food to be at their best, and we hope you will also find inspiration to join in the cause of fighting hunger.