Second annual Slack-A-Thon attracts more ‘slackers’ this year, benefits Martha’s Home

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Martha's Home hosted it's Second Annual Slack-A-Thon fundraiser at The Shops at Wolflin Square.

It's like a fun run with none of the running, but all of the fun.

“Instead of having water stations and bananas and trail mix, we’ve got beer, pizza, donuts, things that you wouldn’t normally see at a race,” said Director of Development and PR for Martha’s Home Sarah Silva. “And we just let people go at their own pace, they don’t have to run, they don’t have to walk, they can crawl through the finish line, we don’t care. So it’s just all for a good cause and for fun.”

While the event celebrates all the slackers out there, it's benefiting Martha's Home as they help homeless women who work hard to create better lives for themselves and their families.

“We have women that live with us and women with their children that live with us all year round,” said Silva. “They usually stay for typically about three months and we just help them get back on their feet so that when they move out, they’re self-sufficient. So we want to make sure they have permanent housing, a vehicle, childcare, a job. We help them apply for school, just anything you can think of where you would need to be able to be self-sufficient.”

Silva says they had more than 300 participants this year and received great feedback from those returning and participating for the first time.

“It was awesome because it’s a half-marathon and not a 5K,” said first-time participant Shaylee Sours. “And we got free food, free drinks and we had a really great time."

“We got to get free beer, there was some vodka shots involved, lots of free food, it was amazing,” said first-time participant Randi Yates.

Martha’s Home says fundraising year-round is essential for all its services and operations.

“Homelessness is a growing need. It’s not going to go away. I wish it would, but we need people to continuously help out,” said Silva. “So coming out to things like this, it’s fun for you and you’re also supporting a good cause.”

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