Our 48th Thanksgiving Day Run, now known as the Run for the Red Feather broke records for participation and money raised. All tolled the Race had nearly 3400 participants and raised over $230,000 to benefit 28 Port Washington Charities.

Creating the Run for the Red Feather

In 2023 we decided to name our 48th annual Thanksgiving Day Run   The Run for the Red Feather as part of our effort to connect our Race with the Community Chest’s charitable mission. Chest President Drew Hershkowitz said “this rebrand help our Race participants  understand that this race is our largest fundraiser of the year and means so much to the 28 charities”. Since our red feather is the Community Chest symbol for charity, it was natural for us to extend this symbolism to our Thanksgiving Day run.

About The Red Feather Award

For the first time, our 48th Annual Thanksgiving Day Run  celebrated the special bond between the Community Chest, our running community, and the Port charities  who change the lives of residents in the Port Washington Community as The Run for the Red Feather.

Inspired by the Community Chest’s original Red Feather logo and our mission to serve the People of Port Washington, renown sculpture Alice Riordan volunteered to create our Red Feather Award trophies.  Symbolizing Port Washington’s community spirit and care for those in need, the Red Feather Award trophy honors  athletic achievement and celebrates our Run’s charitable purpose.

Using funds raised from sponsorships and race entry fees, our  winning Men’s & Women’ runners will randomly select one of our  “Chest” Charities who will each receive an additional $1,000 “Grant prize” to support their work.

Celebrating Our Winners

Each year the Thanksgiving Day Run’s overall Women’s & Men’s winners will have their names memorialized on our Red Feather Trophies. A photo of each winner and our Red Feather Trophy will be displayed at the Community Chest.

Our inaugural Run for the Red Feather winners Luke Elwood (26:19) and Ellie Davis (30:59) randomly selected the Parents Resource Center(PRC) and the Art Guild respectively,  as winners of the 2023 $1,000 Red Feather Award prizes .