Open Door Café Stuffed Strut 5k

Run, walk, or roll so others can eat! Join the 14th annual Stuffed Strut and give some of your Thanksgiving day to help fight hunger.

Runners, walkers, and para-athletes join and raise funds in the fight against hunger. Kids under 10 may run, walk, bike, skate, or scoot the 1-mile fun run.

The 2024 Stuffed Strut begins at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning in downtown Wytheville at the Open Door Café. The route is a relatively flat, paved course around downtown Wytheville. November mornings in our climate zone can be frigid. Please dress accordingly. 

Parking is available along the street, across Main Street at First Christian Church, and at Curves on the corner of 12th and West Main Streets. On-site registration opens at 6:45 am. We will serve warm refreshments immediately after the run's conclusion, in time to get everyone home for a big Thanksgiving lunch. 

First, second, and third-place finishers in several age and mobility categories will receive custom medals. 

All registrants receive a race-day shirt (while supplies last)

Everyone Eats Wythe Us!

All proceeds benefit the Open Door Café, Southwest Virginia's first nonprofit community café. With your support, last year Open Door Café served nearly 17,000 meals, 13,000+ of which were subsidized through charitable gifts and special events proceeds. Over 82% of last year's patrons donated less than the $8 per plate value. With an average per plate donation of $2.06, special event proceeds are vital in subsidizing café meals.

It's A Zero Hunger Run Walk or Roll A-thon

With your support Open Door Café activates runners, walkers, para-athletes, and kids to raise money in the fight against hunger. Join our Run-Walk-Roll-A-Thon movement. Help your favorite stuffed strut entrant reach their fundraising goal by pledging to give per-mile or donate a fixed amount. All pledges subsidize per plate meal costs at the Open Door Café. 

To contribute, click on the DONATE button above and make your contribution towards a Stuffed Strut entrant! If you want to participate in the Run Walk Roll A-Thon yourself, click on "BECOME A FUNDRAISER" under the "DONATE" button.

Raise funds from friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers so that #everyoneeatswytheus!

• $5 - Provides subsidy for one discounted, Lite Fare café meal combo
• $10 - Provides one Classic Fare café combo meal
• $50 - Provides 5 Classic Fare café combo meals
• $100 - Provides 10 Classic Fare café combo meals
• $250 - Provides 25 Classic Fare café combo meals
• $500- Provides 50 Classic Fare café meals

Entrants who raise funds earn swag rewards and recognition!

Team Fundraising

Talk some smack and challenge your coworkers or that industry rival from across town to a Thanksgiving Day 5k A-thon. Then see who can raise more money to make sure Everyone Eats Wythe Us at the Open Door Café! It’s the perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving and warm up for the day with a brisk strut through downtown Wytheville ! Whether you join in-person or take part virtually, we invite you to run, walk, roll, and strut your stuff at the Open Door Café Stuffed Strut.

Social Teams

Reaching the day we celebrate the end of hunger in our community takes a lot of friends! Like we tell volunteers and supporters at the Open Door Café, "THE MORE THE MERRIER!" In that same spirit, we're rewarding you when you create a SOCIAL TEAM to run/walk or roll as a group. Learn more.

Open Door Café is Southwest Virginia's first nonprofit community café, owned and operated by Open Door Community. We provide food insecure households and individuals with access to wholesome and nutritionally appropriate foods in and around Wytheville, VA. 

Stuffed Strut A-thon business supporters have access to a dynamic demographic of active lifestyle consumers and committed community leaders that span ages, industries, and families with disposable income. Find out more about business giving and sponsorship opportunities. 

For more information on business partnership opportunities, please contact Jordan Stidham at jstidham@ouropendoor.org

In 2023 the Aschenbach Wytheville Dealership Team ran a sales challenge, donating $100 from the sale of every new and used 
vehicle toward our Zero Hunger and Housing First mission!

What is the Stuffed Strut A-thon?  

The annual event activates runners, walkers, para-athletes, and kids to raise money in the fight against hunger. It operates using RunSignup.com, an online race management and peer to peer fundraising platform. All proceeds benefit HOPE, Inc. and the Open Door Café, the first donate-what-you-can restaurant in Southwest Virginia. Open Door Café serves 17,000-20,000 meals annually, with 82% of individuals receiving a subsidized, healthy, locally sourced meal. 

The annual Thanksgiving Day race promotes the Open Door Café and subsidizes per plate meal costs. Supporters come together to raise funds and support their favorite Stuffed Strut entrant or business team, helping them win additional incentives and recognition. The Strut is a signature community event, garnering widespread publicity on local and regional social media channels from participating runners, walkers, business supporters, and sponsors via a concentrated marketing and communications campaign.

What is the Run-Walk-Roll A-thon’s potential to amplify individual giving?

The A-thon creates a new opportunity for incremental event revenue growth through peer-to-peer fundraising. Assuming 100 entrants register, incremental forecasts detailed below range from a modest figure of 30% entrant adoption to a more ambitious target of 80% adoption in future years. The 10th anniversary goal has been set slightly above 50%.

What is the goal? 

The A-thon platform supports Open Door Café and its patrons by funding subsidized meals. It makes it easy for friends and family members to financially support café meals, provides sponsors clear advertising benefits, and further demonstrates the value HOPE, Inc. offers donors and community supporters alike. Other goals include:

• Educate local constituents about the Open Door Café’s community impact and social value
• Find and cultivate new donors and sponsors through public awareness raised by the event
• Activate volunteers, staff, and board members as peer-to-peer advocates leveraging their networks
• Create new, more diverse revenue streams for HOPE, Inc.
• Provide patrons an opportunity to receive subsidized meals through funded tokens
• Convert post-paid meal revenue to prepaid revenue through token credits

What support does Open Door Community provide?

In addition to targeted marketing campaign activities across earned media channels (radio, TV, newspaper, print) and owned social media properties, Open Door Community provides benefits and support to participating donors, businesses, and sponsors:

• Web meeting support and troubleshooting
• Best practices, step-by-step guides, and online tutorials regarding profile page setup, features, and configuration
• Regular electronic updates and communication regarding features, incentives, and sponsors
• Online promotion for fundraising teams
• Social media tips, tricks, tools, templates, and tutorials
• Promotional toolkits including sample press releases, graphics, case statements, story boards, etc.
• Access to technical support via the selected platform partner (RunSignUp.com).

The Stuffed Strut is a Thanksgiving 5k supercharged by a community of supporters like you - volunteer, fundraise, and activate your networks in the fight against hunger.

We invite you to create your own zero hunger campaign with the Open Door Café to raise funds in the fight against hunger. By creating your own fundraising campaign, you are helping us address issues of food insecurity and food access. Open Door Café is Southwest Virginia's first donate what you can community café, owned and operated by HOPE, Inc. We provide food insecure households and individuals with access to wholesome and nutritionally appropriate foods in and around Wytheville, VA. Thank you so much for your support. 

Launch Your Zero Hunger Campaign

Tips and Tricks for a Successful Zero Hunger Campaign

1. Start Small and Close - Kick off your campaign with friends and family. The people closest to you are a great resource to help spread your message and make your campaign more visible.
   
   
2. Share Your Story - Simon Sinek says, "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." Creating your own campaign is an opportunity to share "your why." Share your values and vision for the world you're helping create. Make it personal so that others understand the why and feel inspired to join you.
   
   
3. Employer Matches - If you're creating a workplace teams or activating your coworkers, find out if your employer will create or has an existing matching charitable gift program. Many larger corporations do while small business owners are often open to incentivizing your giving with workplace rewards. Don't be afraid to ask.
   
   
4. Contextualize the Impact - All donations benefit the Open Door Café. Gifts of all sizes add up and make a major collective impact in the fight against hunger. Every $8 gift fully subsidizes one café meal.

Campaign Toolkit Download

Learn More about Our Zero Hunger Mission