Flying Pig Marathon and Goodwill Pig Pop Up Shop A Huge Success!
For the first time since 2019, Ohio Valley Goodwill and it’s very popular “Pig Pop-Up Shop” were thrilled to return as a featured vendor at the 2021 P & G Health and Fitness Expo in partnership with the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. Despite a two year absence due to the inability to host in-person events, the Goodwill “Pig Pop Up Shop” was a very popular destination for runners during the weekend events held at the Duke Energy Center. With all running and athleisure wear priced at only $5, shoppers knew a good bargain when they saw it. Hundreds of shoppers stopped by the Pop-Up Shop to stock up on Goodwill running gear and also to say “hello.” The first 100 shoppers this year also received a free make-up bag from Goodwill with an environmental sustainability message printed on it – promoting recycling and re-use. Every year, thanks to the generous donations of the Greater Cincinnati community, Ohio Valley Goodwill is able to help recycle more than 50,000,000 lbs. of donated items. In addition, items sold by Goodwill help to provide almost 90% of the funding needed for its employment and training programs for people with disabilities and our nation’s veterans.
“We are so glad to be back at this year’s Health and Fitness Expo,” said Sharon Hannon, Marketing Director. “As the Title sponsor of the annual PigAbilities event, we have missed being part of the Flying Pig Marathon weekend events.” PigAbilities is an event within the Flying Pig Marathon which is specifically designed to be welcoming to athletes of all abilities and held at a time which is more accessible and welcoming to the participants. This year, unfortunately, due to on-going health and safety concerns, the PigAbilities events are being held virtually this Fall with a hoped-for return to an in-person experience in May of 2022.
Goodwill’s retail team members were also excited to be back and have the opportunity to engage with Expo participants. The team had worked for weeks ahead of time to make sure that there would be plenty of selection of athleisure wear and running gear for shoppers to pick from. Both days were busy as shoppers happily browsed for deals at this year’s Pig Pop Up Shop. Shoppers also enjoyed seeing the Retail team showing off their Halloween fashions during the Expo.
Matthew Fortner, Pop Up Shop Lead with Ellie!
Team Goodwill was also well-represented during the Queen Bee events held on Saturday, October 30th and Sunday, October 31st. Members of the Retail, HR and Marketing teams participated in the MedPace 4 Miler as well as the Queen Bee Half Marathon and full Flying Pig Marathon and enjoyed every moment of the challenging course. “It is such a joy to feel like you can be part of the larger community again and participate in this wonderful event,” said Hannon.
Jen Newcomb and Sharon Hannon with Pig after Queen Bee
Our thanks to the Pig Works team for their coordination of the 2021 Flying Pig and Queen Bee events as well as the P & G Health and Fitness Expo. To shop all 19 Goodwill stores, visit www.goodwillbargains.com for a list of Greater Cincinnati locations. For more about Ohio Valley Goodwill’s mission of service, visit www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/about
