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54
september
october 201 3
Cyclists consider
the 5K a short race in
which riders must go all
out with little time for
strategy or need for shifting
gears. It’Äôs not surprising, therefore,
that motivated’Äúseniors’Äù like John
LaMacchia are attracted to the
event’Äôs length and pace. LaMacchia
doesn’Äôt want to downshift.
His philosophy:’ÄúIt’Äôs better to
look back on life when you’Äôre 100
years old and say, ’ÄòI can’Äôt believe I
did that’Äô’Äîinstead of saying, ’ÄòI wish
I’Äôd done that.’Äô’Äù In other words and
as Red (Morgan Freeman) puts it in
The ShawshankRedemption
,’ÄúGet busy
living’Äîor get busy dying.’Äù
At age 55 but carrying themuscle-
mass ratio of amuch younger man,
the VineMiddle School music director
is only a littlemore than halfway to
his 100-year goal of finally relaxing,
coasting, and looking back on all
that he’Äôs contributed. To listen to
LaMacchia talk is to hear aman
above all driven by his heart and his
faith.When he chose to race in this
year’Äôs Tennessee State Championship
Senior Olympics 5K Cycling Time
Trial in Franklin, Tennessee, he did
so for many reasons’Äîbut primarily
to raisemoney and awareness for
his preferred charity: Knoxville’Äôs
Redeeming HopeMinistries (RHM).
’ÄúMy wife and I go to Redeemer
Church on the University of
Tennessee campus,’Äù he says.’ÄúI’Äôm
friends with [Redeeming Hope’Äôs
Executive Director] Eddie Young.We
are called to care for the poor, and
there was a perfect link between this
race and theministry.’Äù LaMacchia’Äôs
efforts gained both donations and
greater community awareness
for RHM.’ÄúWe raisedmoney for
Redeeming Hope through our
sponsors and’ÄòCheer’Äô donations
[from individuals]. My participation
brought awareness and a windfall
of areamedia attention on the
ministry’Äôs efforts to help the poor and
homeless,’Äù he says.
Redeeming HopeMinistries is
located in the Fort Sanders area,
where it serves’Äúthemost radically
underprivileged and transient
homeless of Knoxville.’Äù In helping
the homeless, RHMuses a holistic
approach that addresses not only
the financial and physical needs
of those it serves, but also their
spiritual, emotional, and relational
needs. Because of its proximity to
the UT campus, RHMoften attracts
student volunteers whose youth and
optimismcontrast markedly with
the older, more worldly outlook of the
chronically homeless.
Consequently, almost since its
official establishment in 2009,
RHMhas employed athleticism
and sports as tools both to motivate
the homeless toward healthier
lifestyles and goal-setting, and to
raise its profile in the community.
In 2011, Lady Vol track athlete, UT
Torchbearer, and the ministry’Äôs
current website organizer Chelsea
Knotts created a running club for
RHM. RHM began securing athletic
clothing and equipment from
Fleet Feet and Runners Market
for the half-dozen or so homeless
participants in the club. This past
November, the ministry held its
second annual Running with Hope
5K, all proceeds fromwhich went
to support RHM’Äôs activities’Äîsuch
as’ÄúFood in the Fort,’Äù which
distributes groceries in urban
Knoxville and also helps
operate a community garden.
Knoxville senior
John LaMacchia
believes in staying active’Äîand in giving to a
good cause. He combined both by biking for
Redeeming Hope
Ministries
this June.
By Mark Spurlock