Another HayDay 5K in the Books!

by | Oct 17, 2019 | News & Notes

This past Saturday, October 12, Love In the Name of Christ hosted our third annual HayDay 5K. This event is in partnership with the City of Hudsonville and Hudsonville Chamber of Commerce’s Urban HayDay, a free fall festival.

This year we had 206 participants signed up to RUN WITH LOVE in our HayDay 5k. This blows past year’s attendance out of the water! We are humbled by the amount of runners that chose to support Love In the Name of Christ on a chilly October morning! Congratulations to all of the runners, we are very proud of you!

As a Love INC staff, we are very appreciative of the countless volunteer hours that were poured into this event. A special thank you to Grand Valley State University Campus Ministry, St. Pius Church, Hudsonville High School National Honor Society and all of our race sponsors. Our race sponsors include J&H Oil, Breeze Church Management, Joy 99.3, Inontime, Carpet Bonanza, Schreur Printing, West Michigan Community Bank, Meijer, Holland Litho Printing, Healthy Choice Family Chiropractic, Journey Construction Group, Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy, Grysen Properties, Edward Jones: Jeff Kolk, DHE, Auto Body Xperts, A&B Rental and Hi Neighbor, INC. We could not have made this event run as smoothly as it did without you!

Up next for our event planning team is the Love Laughs Fundraising Dinner with Comedy on November 8, 2019. We are continually expectant of the ways that God will provide for this ministry and the Hudsonville, Jenison and Grandville communities. Please join us in praying for a successful fundraising dinner this November.

It’s quite incredible that all of this happens almost every day, and every week, by diligent volunteers who embody our diligence core value.

Not only is there a large variety of “things to do,” but also a deep investment by those who say yes to volunteering. Most volunteers serve weekly, some even daily, spending hundreds of hours donating the gift many of us hold most tightly – the gift of time.

In 2023 alone, 420 volunteers invested 49,120 hours – a value of $1.5 million! 

Our core mission is to love, serve and connect with dignity as we follow Jesus Christ closely, watching how he transforms lives – and we often highlight the transformation happening through our Life Skills Program.

What we often forget to highlight is that God is also transforming lives through volunteerism, giving community members purpose, friendship, creativity, and belonging. Here at Love, we believe everyone has something to offer.

If you are a volunteer, at Love Your Neighbor or elsewhere, thank you for this priceless gift!

Check out this volunteer video to learn more about volunteering at Love Your Neighbor.