Story By: ALICIA BUSA / WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA – MONTEREY, CA – Families began arriving before sunrise Thanksgiving Day eager to venture onto Monterey County’s iconic 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for exercise, family photos and to raise valuable funds for the Food Bank for Monterey County. In four hours, a record total $10,185 in cash donations was received, along with two overflowing donation barrels with non-perishable food items. This surpassed the previous cash donation record of $6,100.
According to Melissa Kendrick, CEO and executive director of the Food Bank for Monterey County, every dollar donated has the power to distribute five dollars of food. The non-profit organization feeds one in three children and one in four residents in Monterey County and is the largest and most comprehensive provider of emergency supplemental food in the community.
This year’s Turkey Trot, a tradition that began in 2011, returned after a three-year hiatus caused by the pandemic and track construction. WeatherTech Raceway staff volunteer their time to host the event to ensure that 100 percent of the donations go to the Food Bank.
“We were thrilled to have so many families from our community visit and enjoy their morning together,” commented Barry Toepke, director of heritage events & public relations. “In addition to our neighbors, we enjoyed welcoming visitors from Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, Japan and Holland who mentioned they were visiting our beautiful destination. Plus, I’ve never seen so many happy, tired dogs after their laps around the track!”
The Turkey Trot is part of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s community outreach program that includes such favorites as Cars & Coffee for charity and Twilight Cycling.