Midwest's Mud Run Helps Donate Shoes to Haiti

St. Louis, MO, May 15, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Battlegrounds at Cedar Lake, the Midwest's only permanent mud run and obstacle course, recently held its fourth bi-annual race and collected 350 pairs of shoes for the less fortunate.

The Battlegrounds teamed up with Barrel Aid, which partners with the non-profit Mission-Haiti.org to supply clean shoes, fresh water, food and schooling for more than 1,600 unserved children in Southern Haiti.

Barrel Aid attends mud races from around the country and collects donated shoes, which are laundered and transported in barrels to Mission Haiti in Ti-Rivier. After the shoes have been distributed, Barrel Aid's barrels are fitted with an easy-to-use gutter in order to capture clean rain water for drinking and cooking.

Barrel Aid donates all of the broken and unusuable shoes to TerraCycle, which refurbishes them for people in the U.S. For every 25 pounds of recycled shoes they receive from Barrel Aid, 10¢ is donated to Mission Haiti.

"This year we had our biggest run ever with 850 mud runners plus more than 1,000 spectators," said Carl Bolm, owner of The Battlegrounds and Cedar Lake Cellars. "We are so honored to be a part of Barrel Aid's mission to help children in Haiti."

The Battlegrounds is located at 960 State Highway 00 in Wright City, Mo. next to Cedar Lake Cellars winery and event center. The mud run is held on the first Saturdays in May and October. For more information, contact Barrel Aid's president Nic Zahasky at (563) 419-7465. For mud run details, call The Battlegrounds' Bob Holm at (314) 569-3005 ext. 114.