By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Each Thanksgiving morning, thousands of runners flock to Baldwinsville for the annual Turkey Day Race, held by the Baldwinsville Kiwanis Club. This year, as with so many other fundraising runs, the Turkey Day Race is going virtual, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

“There’s no way we can have 2,000 people together in the same place,” said Matt Sarsfield of the Baldwinsville Kiwanis Club.

Despite the pandemic, the show must go on — from a distance. Participants are encouraged to run the race on their own between Nov. 21 and 29 and are welcome to submit their times and post photos to Baldwinsville Kiwanis’ Facebook page.

Maps of the 5K and 10K courses are available at baldwinsvillekiwanis.com/turkey-race if people want to replicate their usual route.

“We’re actually encouraging people to run the route if they know the route,” Sarsfield said.

This year’s event is the 52nd annual Turkey Day Race in Baldwinsville. Thanks to proceeds from the race, Kiwanis supports dozens of local causes such as the Baldwinsville Community Scholarship Foundation, Paige’s Butterfly Run, Maureen’s Hope Foundation, Baker High School’s “Keep the Ball Rolling” party and sports booster clubs, just to name a few.

Donations go toward helping young people in Baldwinsville and beyond. In 2020, Kiwanis donated six scholarships worth $1,000 each to graduating Baker seniors. The club is also able to sponsor about a dozen children to attend Kamp Kiwanis, located just outside of Rome, New York.

The pandemic has nixed in-person meetings and events for Kiwanis. The organization’s annual fishing derby and Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Summer Camp were canceled.

“We’ve gone mostly virtual for meetings. It was okay when we could go outside and stay apart. A lot of our members are older, so we didn’t want to put people at risk,” Sarsfield said.

The decision to turn the Turkey Day Race into a virtual fundraiser was difficult but necessary, Sarsfield said.

“It kind of stinks for us because we really love to see everybody on Thanksgiving morning,” he said.

Despite the hurdles posed by the pandemic, Kiwanis has continued to give back to the greater Baldwinsville community. The club donated about $70,000 worth of food to local food pantries early in the pandemic. Kiwanis is hoping the proceeds from the virtual race will help tide hungry families over as winter approaches and the pandemic continues.

“Our stores have run out, so now we’re trying to refill them with the help of the Rotary Club and the backpack program,” Sarsfield said. “This will be a trying time. We’re going to have more interruptions in school.”

Additionally, the club partnered with Pizza Man Pub to provide meals for essential workers at area hospitals.

Kiwanis welcomes donations and volunteers to continue its mission of helping children in Baldwinsville and beyond.

“[People can] run the race or support with donations if they want. I know it’s a tough time and we don’t want to put anyone at any risk,” Sarsfield said. “Volunteer to join up with us and start helping out kids all over.”