IMF Gives Back to Lake Placid

The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund will give $66,000 in grant funding to initiatives and groups in the greater Lake Placid, New York area as part of the IRONMAN® Lake Placid triathlon taking place on Sunday, July 26, 2015. The IRONMAN Lake Placid event is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the IRONMAN events in North America. The IRONMAN Foundation’s contribution will provide support to non-profit needs and initiatives within the local community, and brings the total giveback to $1,377,033 in the region. Including the IRONMAN Foundation donations as part of IRONMAN Lake Placid, a total of over $1.5 million will be provided to support the needs of IRONMAN race communities in 2015.

The IRONMAN Foundation will donate $26,000 of the $66,000 to the Lake Placid community to support local non-profit beneficiaries that will use the funds toward initiatives to better the area. One recipient of these funds is the Lake Placid Outing Club (LPOC). David Balestrini, Board Chair of LPOC, said “Support from the Ironman Foundation Inc. will be used to directly further our mission. We will be able to include a larger percentage of disadvantage youth in our program, train an additional leader to continue offering highly subsidized, multiple-overnight wilderness trips, and continue the ongoing effort to maintain and diversify the equipment we make available to participants in our program.” Other grant recipients include the Adirondack Foundation, East Branch Friends of the Arts, and the Adirondack Medical Center.

Community grant recipients will be honored at the Athlete Welcome Ceremony on Friday, July 24, 2015 at Mid’s Park on Main Street, Lake Placid.

The IRONMAN Foundation will provide $40,000 in grant donations to local non-profit groups that have a volunteerism component to their organizations. “The mission of the IRONMAN Foundation is to leave the IRONMAN legacy through philanthropy, volunteerism and grant making, and to support various public benefit organizations around the world. We are thrilled to expand the Foundation’s reach and impact through volunteer grants in Lake Placid,” said Christine Perkins, Community Relations Manager for The IRONMAN Foundation.

More than 229 athletes registered as Foundation athletes for IRONMAN Lake Placid, which generated $166,025 for the Foundation’s Community Fund. This fund provides volunteer and community grant support to public benefit organizations and programs within IRONMAN race communities throughout the United States. The proceeds from the Community Fund then provide grant opportunities to public benefit organizations in the communities where U.S. IRONMAN events are held.

The IRONMAN Foundation will be conducting a R.A.K. (Random Acts of Kindness) campaign while in Lake Placid. The foundation staff will be out and about throughout the community encouraging athletes and their support crew to make a difference while out in the community. To find out more information on how to get involved with the foundations programs, stop by their expo boot at the IRONMAN expo at the Olympic Oval from Thursday through Saturday.