Jessica Domingos, executive director of The Evie Effect, at the FRESH15 check donation. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) presented more than $230,000 to 36 nonprofit organizations across East Texas from funds raised during the 12th annual FRESH15 Race.

“It’s one of our favorite days,” said Ashleigh Endicott, BGC Racing Director. “It’s where everything that we’ve done for the race comes back and gets put right back into our community.”

Community leaders, the BGC Racing Team and local charity partners gathered at FRESH by Brookshire’s in Tyler on Tuesday for the annual check presentation.

“There’s new charities, there’s charities that have been here for a long time and that’s what we love to do,” Endicott said. “We love to get to know these charities, get to see what their needs are in our community and then give back.”

This year’s race saw record-breaking participation, with 5,000 runners and a total fundraising effort that surpassed the $200,000 goal. Since its inaugural event 12 years ago, BGC has donated 100% of race registration fees to support the East Texas community, contributing over $1.8 million to date.

“It was a great race,” said Brad Brookshire, Chairman and CEO of BGC. “The race team… did a fantastic job of putting on a race that we’re very, very proud of and just couldn’t be more pleased with the participation.”

Rosemary Jones, Executive Vice President of People and Legal for BGC, expressed her appreciation for the charities and the race team.

“Y’all make this all worthwhile and doing it so it has a purpose and a cause, and we appreciate you coming out and giving us that motivation each time,” she said. “Race team, nobody can say thank you enough for everything they do behind the scenes, so a big thank you for everything you do each year.”

The Evie Effect was one of the new nonprofit organizations who were the beneficiaries of the check presentation.

“We are completely honored and blessed,” said Jessica Domingos, executive director of The Evie Effect. “It will help us make such an impact with our Holding Space program and help reach more of the community.”

The Evie Effect was started by Jessica and her husband Michael in 2020, almost a year after losing their 12-year-old daughter to suicide.

“She struggled with suicidal ideation,” Michael said. “She had very high social anxiety, generalized anxiety and depression and we were not equipped to deal with those kinds of issues. People are not trained to deal with suicidal ideation or mental health issues. Parents don’t know what to do when that happens, and you rely on your doctors, but it takes more than that because you’re at home trying to help that person and we realized that the community really needs hope. They need the tools to be able to have those conversations, so our nonprofit started with small acts of kindness and has built over the past almost five years.”

The $3,500 The Evie Effect received from BGC will be used to expand its Holding Space program, including workshops tailored for the Hispanic community. The Evie Effect is partnering with a translator who will assist in both translating the program into Spanish and facilitating the workshops. Additionally, resource cards and educational materials will be translated to better serve the community.

“There has been an increase in Latina females in the suicide rate and it’s scary to see these rates continue to go up,” Domingos said. “We can train that community on what resources are out there specific to their needs and train them on suicide prevention for the Hispanic community. Different demographics need different resources, they need culturally appropriate information.”

The SPCA of East Texas was gifted $5,500 from BGC, a portion of which will go towards K9 Connections, a program in partnership with Camp V. K9 Connections is dedicated to pairing veterans with specially trained service dogs, offering emotional support and assistance for those navigating post-service life.

“We take the dogs from the SPCA and train them up to be service dogs for our veterans, anywhere from audio alert, PTSD, diabetes, mobility, seizure alerts… the list goes on,” said Alison Tuttle, dog behaviorist and trainer with K9 Connection.

This initiative not only helps veterans gain independence and improve their quality of life but also provides dogs in need with a purpose, transforming them into loyal companions.

“It really is a true community partnership because between Allison and CampV and Brookshires and SPCA,” said Emily Huglund, executive director of SPCA of East Texas. “This program wouldn’t exist without all of those parties, so it’s just incredible to see it all come together.”

Next year’s race will take place on March 1, 2026. According to the organizers, spots are filling up early, as over 1,500 runners have already signed up. Visit www.fresh15k.com to register. For charities seeking support from the FRESH15 race next year, fill out an application by visiting bgcgivingback.us.optimytool.com/en.