Danny Gokey Launches Marathon to Benefit the Homeless

‘American Idol’ alum Danny Gokey is kicking off his first Annual Run for Compassion, a group running the Nashville Marathon to benefit homeless families in Nashville. This run falls under umbrella of Gokey’s organization Sophia’s Heart Foundation, which he founded after his first wife Sophia died during surgery for congenital heart disease in 2008. Sophia passed just four weeks after the country star auditioned for ‘American Idol.’

Run for Compassion will take place Saturday, April 28 at 7 AM CT and will feature a kickoff event hosted by Gokey himself. That event will be held the night before the race from 6:30 – 8:30PM ET at Compassion Nashville.

Sophia’s Heart Foundation exists to develop the legacy of Sophia, who died when she was just 27, and to meet the spiritual, emotional and mental needs of children ages 0 to 18 through a music and arts program. During her life, Sophia encouraged her husband to become a contestant on ‘American Idol’ and pursue his dream, and now he’s committed to carrying out the dream she wasn’t able to see to fruition.

After all the pain he underwent with the loss of his young bride, Gokey remarried Jan. 29 to Leyicet Peralta. In a recent video of their wedding, the couple shared some of their special wedding-day moments with their fans.

Speaking to his new wife in the video, Gokey opened up, saying, “I hope throughout our marriage, not only through words but through actions, I can express how much you mean to me.” We can only assume he made this promise to Sophia as well, and now he’s going above and beyond to carry it out. It’s hard to find a love story more beautiful than that.