Seven years ago, two Ballard friends decided to walk to each Dick’s Drive-In restaurant in one day, and raise money for charity in the process. The next year more friends joined in, then more the next and on and on, until they raised $11,637 last year.
This Saturday, Dick’s Drive-In Round Up for Charity Walkathon co-founders Lars Phillips and JP Osseward are expecting more than 200 people to join them for their 7th annual walk, where they hope to raise $15,000 for local homeless organizations.
Last year’s walkers. Photo courtesy of Dick’s Drive-In Round Up for Charity Walkathon.
The group will begin in Edmonds and walk a total of 22 miles, visiting all six Dick’s locations: Lake City, Holman Road, Wallingford, Broadway and Queen Anne.
The walkers themselves donate to the cause through their $20 registration fee (which gets you a T-shirt and the chance to walk with community leaders and local celebrities); plus Dick’s and Gravity Payments (Dick’s credit card processor, since Dick’s began accepting credit cards last year) have each agreed to match up to $5,000 raised by walkers and by customers who round up their payments on Saturday to donate to Dick’s Change for Charity Program. That program supports Mary’s Place, First Place School, FareStart, ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, The Compass Center, Operation Nightwatch, St. Martin de Porres Shelter, and Cocoon House.
You can register online and then walk just one leg or several or all.
You can find more information on the event’s Facebook page and you can see a highlight video from last year’s walk here.
