Walmart acted as an official corporate sponsor for the Men of Vision (MOV) Foundation’s 5th Annual Juneteenth Weekend celebration, which featured the MOV 5K Run/3K Walk and block party in Fitzgerald, Georgia from June 14-16. The MOV Juneteenth Weekend was a family-oriented event filled with activities. It kicked off with Free Jazz in the Park on Friday night, followed by the Juneteenth Block Party on Saturday, hosted by Grammy-winning singer and 112 co-founding member Q Parker.
The Block Party, a highlight of the weekend, offered a day-long experience with food trucks, shopping from various vendors, displays and sales of Black art, guest speakers, live music, performances, and raffle prizes. Other notable features included the Juneteenth Youth Essay Contest, MOV Honorees, FREE Workout Training, Kids Zone, and Gospel Fest, closing out the weekend on Sunday.
Walmart’s sponsorship included a $5,000 donation to support MOV’s youth programs. Robert Hendry, Senior Manager of Community Affairs at Walmart, expressed pride in supporting the event, stating, “This collaboration reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting the African American community and fostering positive change nationwide.”
Carlos Scott of the Men of Vision Foundation expressed gratitude, noting, “Walmart has a long track record of supporting the African-American community. So we at MOV are extremely humbled for them to value our community efforts enough to support us.”
MOV’s Juneteenth Weekend serves as the foundation’s largest annual fundraiser, with proceeds (excluding the Run/Walk) going towards MOV programs and community initiatives like mentoring, financial literacy, career readiness training, STEM incubators, and health and wellness resources. The foundation also organizes youth enrichment trips to historically Black colleges and significant sites across the country.
Alongside Walmart, other corporate sponsors included the city of Fitzgerald, WALB News 10, Coca-Cola UNITED, Hibbett Sports, Harvey’s, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, Georgia Department of Public Health, Marble Wines, and UPSCALE Magazine.
