On Wednesday, Marathon Petroleum representatives handed over a generous $50,000 check to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, raised through their second annual Catching for a Cause fishing event this past summer.
“We are so grateful to Marathon and their efforts to help raise money to keep us going,” said Kenai Peninsula Foodbank Board President Sean O’Reilly. “The support that they generated through their efforts to bring some new money from outside and from people that don’t normally live in our community is fabulous.”
The event helps attract out-of-state participants. Marathon’s unique approach mirrors similar-style fund-raisers, like golf tournaments, offered by other companies but utilizes Alaska’s natural resources. One of those natural resources, salmon fishing, gives participants not only a chance to raise money for a good cause but also to do something uniquely Alaskan.
“We had almost 50 people participating–that was contractors as volunteers, and then that’s also the Marathon folks interacting with everybody,” said Marathon Petroleum’s Kenai Refinery turnaround and construction supervisor, Dustin Moore. “It’s a tremendous honor, and the nice thing about the food bank is its real money going to real people, and when people donate their hard-earned dollars, it’s nice to see that they’re more enthusiastic to do so when they know it’s going somewhere like the food bank where they can see their money go to work.”
Moore praised the food bank’s impactful work, adding, “You can see the difference they’re making when you’re here.” He commended the food bank for its smart use of every dollar and said that for locals, it’s especially meaningful to support such an important cause.
For more details on the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, visit their Facebook page or go to kpfoodbank.org.