ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Drumstick Dash is the year’s largest fundraiser for the Roanoke Rescue Mission, the primary beneficiary of the annual Thanksgiving race.
In 2023, the race raised nearly $300,000 for the Rescue Mission. As participation trends upward, that mark is expected to increase in 2024.
That money goes toward funding the work done by the Mission, including its 12-month and 15-month recovery programs. Those programs are designed to help those battling tough times, mental illness, and substance abuse, get back on their feet.
Both programs are free for participants, a feat recovery coaches call “unheard of.”
Derek Fondren and Josie DiFilippo are two of those coaches at the Mission.
Their job is to work with participants in both one-on-one and group class settings to equip them with the skills and resources needed to fulfill their potential.
The program encourages healthy habits and accountability in its participants through partnerships with the YMCA and service-based opportunities.
DiFilippo began working with the Mission full-time in 2022, after spending time working in a number of other service-based roles.
She said the Rescue Mission has been the most gratifying because of its prioritization of close relationships and deep connections with the participants.
“It’s nice to be able to sit with somebody, whether they’re at their lowest or in a transition,” she said. “Just sit with somebody and talk to them, get to know their story, be a shoulder for them to cry on. Give them a hug because sometimes that’s all somebody needs.”
Fondren had a different path to becoming a coach.
He started full-time work with the Mission about 18 months ago after being a participant in the program as he battled alcoholism.
“I had lost everything,” he said. “I had lost my home, I lost my career, I lost my wife, I lost my money. I had the house with the white picket fence and the truck and lost all of that and realized that I needed to get help.”
Near the time of his graduation, he was approached by the program director about considering full-time employment as a coach.
His former struggles quickly became his greatest assets in coaching.
“That’s how I stay sober now to this day is being able to extend that hand and help them through my story because I can say, ‘Hey, I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve walked your path,’” Fondren said.
He emphasizes the 12-step process used in substance abuse recovery because he knew it worked for him.
On the other side, DiFilippo places a great deal of focus on the mental health side of recovery.
The two say that the office does a great job of pulling the two together to create a holistic program that excels in helping its participants be the best they can be.
“There’s no greater feeling that I don’t think I could ever describe than watching someone become who God wanted them to be,” said DiFilippo.
The Drumstick Dash helps support that work, along with so many of the Rescue Mission’s other initiatives, the biggest of which is providing meals for those in need.
For those unable to join the Dash in person on Thanksgiving morning, there is a virtual race option that allows people to get in their exercise while contributing to a good cause.
The registration link can be found here.