Brookshire’s brings Fresh 15 race to Breckenridge Village of Tyler

Published 6:52 pm Friday, May 28, 2021

Something was missing at Brookshire’s Fresh 15 race two weeks ago. Race coordinators couldn’t quite put their finger on it, but it was something big.

Then, they realized.

The race that brought out more than 3,700 runners, including 24 from other states and three different countries, was missing every friend from the Breckenridge Village of Tyler, a residential community for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities.

“We wrapped up the race and we were like, ‘There’s something missing.’ We felt it in our hearts and we felt it at the race and it was Breckenridge,” said Ashleigh Endicott, race director.

The team came together and thought about what to do. They thought about going to their friends directly, so they did.

Because COVID-19 restrictions did not allow the residents of Breckenridge Village of Tyler to attend the race on May 15, Brookshire’s Grocery Co. went to them on Thursday.

“Every aspect of the race is here. We have an arch for the start finish-line, we had a water stop, we had different music on the course, we brought feather flags, we’re doing a post race party, they had medals, we had a pacer that came out and ran with them for fun,” Endicott said.

Endicott said that every piece that comes together to make Fresh 15 what it is was taken to Breckenridge.

“It’s like bringing the race here. It’s the first time we’ve ever done this and it’s such an honor to come out here and do it. Just seeing every one of the residents’ faces, we did the right thing and I think that they’ve had an awesome time,” Endicott said.

After each resident crossed the finish line, they were met with a medal and at the post race party, they received various goodies from BGC’s sponsors.

“It’s just our way to show these residents, just give them extra fun swag that they get to take back with them,” Endicott said.

She said the biggest message is community.

“Brookshire Grocery Company loves community,” Endicott said. “COVID hit us all in different ways and this hit them and we came to them and we weren’t going to let COVID stop this for them.”

Breckenridge also happens to be one of the nonprofits that benefit from donations raised through the Fresh 15 race.

Steven Campbell, executive director of Breckenridge Village of Tyler, said the residents love attending the race every year, but because of the pandemic, the residential community made the difficult decision to stay at BVT and not attend the race.

“Brookshire’s Grocery Company was so gracious in offering to bring the race to us this year,” Campbell said. “It was a 100% surprise. I got a call from Brookshire’s and they made the offer and we were just so taken back by their generous offer to bring it out here.”

He said the Fresh 15 literally came to Breckenridge.

“They brought the cart, the flags, the finish line, the DJ, they brought everything. It went beyond any expectation we ever had. For me, it shows how gracious our community is to the individuals that we serve here at BVT. Sometimes society may put our population of people on the back-burner, but this just proves that Brookshire Grocery Company and our community values them and wants to put a spotlight on them. We’re so thankful for that,” Campbell said.