Godwin junior Liam Du never expected his passion for helping his community and his passion for running to collide. However, there was no time better than now for them to do so.

For the entire month of May, Du personally set up a virtual 5k with Feed More to raise money and provide meals to those in need of them. Feed More is a Central Virginia organization that collects and donates complete meals to neighbors in 34 cities and counties in the area. Many have already joined and contributed to Du’s virtual 5k, including one of our own Godwin English teachers, Katie Spicer.

Du is involved with Godwin’s track and cross country teams, so creating a 5k was an enjoyable way to help out his community, and he had inspiration from some of his peers.

“A lot of my runner friends started their own fundraisers, so I thought I could do the same to help out my community,” said Du.

His 5k has certainly helped out the local families in need. Du has already raised 8,000 meals and that number is continuing to grow as more people are joining in.

In order to make the event known to the community, Du and a few participants of the 5k posted information about the event on social media. 

This helped to bring the event to the public eye.

“I chose Feed More because I tried to volunteer there once. Also, the organization is based in Richmond, so that allows me to impact people locally,” said Du.

Liam has always been a compassionate and helpful teammate in track and cross country, which is why it was no surprise that he wanted to do something so helpful for his community.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Richmond, more people are in need,” said Du.

According to Feed More, more than 193,000 of our neighbors are not receiving the necessary nutrition because of that, one in seven children in Central Virginia do not know where they will receive their next meal.

Each participant of the 5k will provide 40 meals to his or her neighbors and anyone can donate to the event. Each dollar is equal to four meals.

The 5k is 10 dollars to participate in and after the event, a complimentary sticker will be sent to you.

“I don’t think 10 dollars is a lot, but with a lot of people we can truly make a difference,” said Du.

Du also set this up so participants don’t have to race if they do not want to. Each participant can decide if they want to walk, jog, run, or alternate throughout their activity. 

In addition to wanting to help his community, Du also wanted to gain experience through this event for the future.

“I have always wanted to be a race director so this was a good opportunity for that experience,” said Du.

The event also allows people to simply just donate if they aren’t the active type but still want to contribute to their community.

He spent a lot of time setting this event up to make it the best it can be because he wants to provide the most he can for his community. Du hopes to make this an annual event with Feed More. 

“I want to host this next year if possible,” said Du.

This is an entertaining and effective way for Du to get involved with his community. He wants to continue to do whatever he can to help those in need, especially in times like these.

Du encourages everyone to contribute to their community to better the lives of everyone around them.

“A little from everyone goes a long way,” said Du.