On March 20, the Auburn community gathered to support The Jason Dufner Foundation with a 5K that toke place at the Red Barn.
Dufner graduated from Auburn in 2000. During his time at Auburn he played golf and is now in the PGA.
The Jason Dufner Foundation partners with Blessings in a Backpack to supply children in need with meals to take home to their families on the weekends.
While Dufner is not originally from Auburn, he said he chose to focus his foundation on the Lee County area.
Dufner said he may eventually be open to expanding the foundation to other counties, but wants to focus on Lee County for now. He chose hunger for his foundation because his wife has been involved with Blessings in a Backpack and he realized that there was not a similar organization here in Auburn.
“We’d like to get the students more involved,” Dufner said.
While the foundation hosts a golf tournament, Dufner said they decided to hold a walk this year in addition to the golf tournament.
The golf tournament will also take place from March 22-23.
Program Director Bonnie Upright said the foundation gets a lot of its money from the golf tournament. She said this is the first 5K that the foundation has hosted.
“It’s really not so much about being a fundraiser as it was being a friend-raiser,” Upright said.
The foundation provides food for more than 1,000 children in Lee County, according to Upright.
“Every Thursday afternoon we have volunteers that come and pack bags.. for kids who are on the free or reduced lunch program,” Upright said. The bags are given out on Fridays.
Harriet Giles, managing director of the Auburn University Hunger Solutions Institute said she is glad to see the community come together for the cause.
Winners of the race were awarded gift cards from local businesses. Following the race, there was a block party in the Red Barn.
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