Help raise funds for your charity while participating in the largest human ribbon
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, you will have the chance to not only help raise funds for your charity organization, but also join other charity volunteers for a fun day at the Winter Haven Charity Challenge, where participants attempt to break a Guinness world record for the largest human ribbon!
The Winter Haven Charity Challenge is a collaborative charity and fundraising event orchestrated by Your Polk County Hub and the Solutions Group, both local not-for-profit organizations. Deron Stults of Solutions Group is working in conjunction with Chris Hazelwood of Your Polk County Hub and “an excellent team and committee” to organize this event. In addition to the world record-breaking human formation, there will be entertainment and vendors at the Charity Challenge.
Currently, Saudi Arabia holds The Guinness world record for the largest ribbon-shaped human formation. Their formation had 8,264 people; if just 8,265 people attend the Winter Haven Charity Challenge, Central Florida could break a world record and make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Hazelwood, of Your Polk County Hub, divulged that so far, there are 12 different charities that are signed up to participate in the challenge and several corporate sponsors interested in donating and participating as well. Along with donations, T-shirts for the event can be purchased and a percentage of the proceeds from the shirt will go toward a charity of your choice.
Hazelwood explains, “Guinness World Records hold very strict rules and regulations, and a lot of paperwork, too. All the participants must be wearing the same color shirts. Mike Potthast will be covering the event aerially, taking photos from a plane above, and there is a fee to have a Guinness representative attend the event, so this challenge is a long time in the making!”
This year marks the third attempt to break the world record. In 2011, the first charity challenge event was held at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City and the “ribbon color” was pink for breast cancer. The second attempt was in 2014 and the color was lavender, the designated ribbon color for all cancers. The ribbon color for this year has not yet been decided, as the Charity Challenge event is still 10 months away. But this leaves plenty of time to get exposure for the event and get other not-for-profit organizations and volunteers prepared to contribute their time and resources for the Winter Haven Charity Challenge.
Please visit WHCharityChallenge.com for pictures of years past and more information about this year’s event. Every single person counts to help raise money and raise awareness and in this instance — even break a world record doing it.
CREDIT
article by JULIE GMITTER