Over 5,000 people will descend on Coolidge Park to burn off some Thanksgiving pre-meal calories while celebrating a long time Chattanooga Thanksgiving tradition on Thursday at the 19th Annual Grateful Gobbler Walk presented by First Tennessee Bank. The family fun event will begin promptly at 8 a.m. giving everyone an opportunity to be home by 10 a.m. to place the finishing touches on their Thanksgiving meal.
One hundred percent of the proceeds of the walk will benefit the Maclellan Shelter for Families. This family shelter, located onsite at the Community Kitchen on 11th Street in Chattanooga, features 13 units with 64 beds and is the first of its kind in Chattanooga, as it provides a stable environment for an intact family to remain together as they search for permanent housing solutions. Since its opening in December 2014, approximately 600 families, comprising of more than 1,000 men, women, and children, have benefited from the programs including meals, case management, and job training provided by the shelter.
Children, adults, church leaders and their congregants, and pets adorned in festive costumes along with current and former residents of the Maclellan Shelter for Families, community leaders and officials from the Grateful Gobbler Planning Committee, are all expected to attend.
There will be onsite registration on Thanksgiving morning beginning at 6:30 a.m. and will continue until 7:45 a.m., just before the start of the 19th Annual Grateful Gobbler Walk. The cost to participate is $30 for walkers/runners 13 year and older and $20 for ages 12 and under. For those who are planning to travel out of town for the holiday or sleep in on Thanksgiving morning, they may still support the Grateful Gobbler Walk by registering either as a Virtual or Sleep Walker for $20.
Coolidge Park will be festive and buzzing with Grateful Gobblers beginning Wednesday as walkers will be able to pick up their registration packets, race day T-shirt and to purchase Thanksgiving festive merchandise between 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Coolidge Park Pavilion.