The 2018 Fasting 5K Run and Walk, which was held this summer at the end of a long 16-hour fast during Ramadan in ten cities throughout the country, enabled thousands of athletes to embrace the spirit of the month by fasting, fundraising, and building community through this annual 5K event.
In the Metro Detroit area, the Fasting 5K team selected The B.L.O.C.K. Youth & Teen Center, Canton’s popular After-School and Summer program for ages 11-17 that features daily programming, tutoring, outreach, and recreation opportunities, to receive $12,374.56 raised from their 5K run in June 2018.
"The B.L.O.C.K. Youth & Teen Center is so grateful to be one the recipients from this annual Detroit area event," said Laura Mortier, Recreation Specialist. "We are overwhelmed by the Fasting 5K team’s generosity and dedication to youth development in our community that will go a long way in keeping our participants on a positive path and help them take charge of their futures.”
Proceeds from this event will be used to fund The B.L.O.C.K.’s award-winning Lead #LikeAGirl program that provides local young women ages 11-15 with a nine-month interactive and empowering Leadership Development curriculum, as well as the Be A #ModelMan program, that is designed to grow six core values in young men ages 11-15, including: integrity, empathy, compassion, inner-strength, courage and respect.
The Fasting 5K group has created a network of communities that run every Ramadan for a single cause – to give youth everything they need to develop regardless of their location and socioeconomic status and, ultimately, to be the catalysts for change in the future.
Since its inception in 2013, Fasting 5K has raised over $250,000 to support local charities based in the participating cities. Fasting 5K was created to further general acts of goodness during Ramadan, which is a holy month celebrated by the Islamic faith, where healthy Muslims forgo food and water from sunrise to sunset.
The B.L.O.C.K. Youth & Teen Center, located at 1150 S. Canton Center Road in Canton, MI, provides a fun, teen-friendly environment where students from ages 11-17 can participant in supervised afterschool and summer programs, social events, and activities.
For more information about the Fasting 5K Run and Walk, visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/fasting5k/about/?ref=page_internal. To learn more about The B.L.O.C.K. Youth & Teen Center, visit www.cantonfun.org or call 734/398-5570.