The 30A10K race is a non-profit event in Rosemary Beach, Florida whose mission is to raise funds for local charities and promote a spirit of healthy living and thankfulness. It’s been named a Top 5 Thanksgiving Day run in the south by Southern Living, and has raised over $250,00 for local charities. Foye Belle is a proud beneficiary of this year’s race.
30A10K Q+A with Foye Belle’s President, Mark Berler
The Foye Belle Foundation was founded by my wife, Chelsea Berler, in 2017, and our mission is to provide comfort and support to cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. Chelsea was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in September of that year and started chemo immediately thereafter. Chelsea was lucky enough to receive loads of support from her friends and family, but after a few treatments, she realized that not everyone was so lucky. That’s when the Foye Belle Foundation was born.
The Foundation provides Blue Bags full of items to help make cancer patients feel a little less blue. From items aimed at passing the time during the actual treatments to things meant to help make the patient more comfortable, each bag is brimming with items curated by Chelsea during her own treatment. To date, we have shipped over 1,200 Blue Bags globally.
We are so thankful to the 30A 10K for choosing the Foye Belle Foundation as one of their charities this year. The Foundation’s goal is to use the 30A 10K race donation to further the Blue Bag Movement by creating partnerships with oncology centers across the Emerald Coast to ensure everyone going through the chemo process feels loved and supported. While we ship Blue Bags all over the world, there is nothing more rewarding than helping people in our own community.
We always love receiving emails and videos from Blue Bag recipients, but nothing was more rewarding than being able to hand deliver a Blue Bag to a Santa Rosa Beach resident. We received a request for a Blue Bag from a local and, instead of shipping the Blue Bag, I decided to personally drive to their house and deliver the Blue Bag. I pulled in the driveway, rang the front doorbell and a gentleman answered the door. What happened next was a line of questioning trying to figure out what I wanted or what I was selling. After explaining to him I was the president of the Foye Belle Foundation and I was personally delivering a Blue Bag for his wife, his eyes teared up. His next words to me were “So, you came here on your own time for no other purpose than to give my wife a gift and ask for absolutely nothing in return?” I answered yes and then he hugged me and said thank you. Not only was it the most memorable moment as president of the Foye Belle Foundation, it was likely the most memorable moment of my life.
We won’t have any of our board members running, but we’ll have volunteers there to support all the runners!
I can’t think of a better way to begin Thanksgiving morning than a run along beautiful scenic highway 30A along with the added benefit of supporting our local charities. That’s a sure fire way to a thankful place in our hearts and minds. Plus, running Thanksgiving morning is a great way to justify having one more piece of pie later!