- April 24, 2024
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A fundraising 5K race is set for Saturday at Destination Daytona.
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
Two years ago, budgeting was a struggle for Debra Komins, of Ormond Beach. Newly divorced, she was going to school while raising her 10-year-old daughter, Rachel.
“I was living on student loans,” she said.
But just because she was having a hard time making ends meet, she didn’t want Rachel to give up her gymnastics after taking lessons since the age of 3. She used credit cards and went into debt.
“It’s her passion,” she said. “If a gymnast goes a couple of months without doing it, they usually quit. It’s so difficult to get back to where they were.”
Their situation changed dramatically, though, when Komins heard about Grassroots Giving. The local nonprofit pays for extra-curricular activities for children that qualify, and Komins was able to get a grant to help pay the gymnastics fees
Now working and able to pay for gymnastics, Komins is grateful to the charity for helping her through a rough period.
“Grassroots was such a relief,” she said. “It was so helpful.”
Grassroots Giving will host its biggest fundraising event of the year this Saturday, a 5K race called the Run for Hope, at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona Coca Cola Pavilion, 1635 N. U.S. 1.
“This event is crucial,” said Missy Gibson, founder of Grassroots. “We spend a lot of time on it.”
She said many people pay the $30 fee but just walk the course to support the organization and enjoy the event.
“It helps kids participate in sports and get healthy lifestyles,” said Mandy Rossmeyer Campbell, marketing manager at Destination Daytona. “It’s a great organization.”
To qualify for a grant from the charity, a child must be getting a subsidized or free lunch at school. Most of the kids apply for money so they can take part in “pay to play” athletics or band. They also will pay for special camps or classes that offer music, cultural arts or other programs.
Gibson said they have helped 800 local children in the six years the charity has been in existence, as well as awarded $127,000.
Komins said gymnastics has done “worlds of good” for Rachel. She is in the honors program in school and her goal is to go to college on a gymnastics scholarship.
“It has kept her in a safe environment, she’s extremely fit and strong inside and out,” Komins said. “It’s just amazing. And it’s kept her away from the negative things that are around kids.”
Gibson said the community is finding out about the organization, and she is receiving donations, business partnerships and more applications for funds.
“We try to help as many kids as we can, but we have a limited budget,” she said.
Tammy Tepper, of Ormond Beach, is a board member of Grassroots and has also taken part in the Run for Hope. She likes the Destination Daytona course because parts of it go off-road through sandy areas and woods.
“It’s like a cross-country race,” she said. “You’re turning and zigzagging.”
She’s involved in Grassroots because young people get the character-building benefits of team sports.
“Some of these kids live in neighborhoods where there mother doesn’t even want them to go outside because it’s so dangerous,” Tepper said.
She cited an example of a young man who was given the chance to go to a music camp. He has kept up his music and his mother sends pictures of his progress. He was recently able to go to a statewide competition and won first chair for his instrument, double bass.
“He’s now looking at colleges,” Tepper said
Visit grassrootsgiving.info.
