Two memorable events held over the weekend clearly demonstrate why our community is such a special place in which to live.

On Saturday morning as many as 3,500 people gathered at Rancho Bernardo Community Park to complete the three-mile run started Feb. 25 by murdered Poway teenager Chelsea King.

Meanwhile, over at The Church at Rancho Bernardo, several thousand volunteers worked in shifts for 16 hours Saturday and Sunday to reach a goal of assembling and packing 1 million meals for hungry people in Tanzania, Haiti and here in San Diego County.

The run/walk was organized in a few days and mostly on the Internet by a group of volunteers headed by Rancho Penasquitos resident and radio producer Tommy Sablan. The idea was to create a positive, healing opportunity where those who have been affected in one way or another by King’s senseless murder could “take back” the park where she loved to run.

A logistical parking problem was solved through the donation of buses by a San Diego company. Music and banners greeted participants, each to whom was asked to sprinkle a handful of wildflower seeds along the trail. King’s mother made a surprise visit to hug and thank many of the participants as they completed their treks.

As positive as the event was, we do have some preliminary concerns about another campaign being organized on the Internet, to rename Rancho Bernardo Community Park the Chelsea King Memorial Park. Our suggestion is to hold the thought for a couple of months and think the concept through. Perhaps, upon reflection, a more appropriate path would be to name one of the trails after King or establish a memorial garden or other landmark in the park in her memory.

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The two-day, million-meal campaign was deftly organized by Phil Harris and his faith-based Friends & Family Community Connection, assisted by The Church at Rancho Bernardo and featured participation by 5,000-plus volunteers from dozens of area churches, service clubs, sports teams and schools. In recent years, the nonprofit has conducted 17 similar food package-assembly efforts, but nothing even close in size or goal to what was attempted and completed on Saturday and Sunday.

Adults of all ages worked shoulder to shoulder with children as plastic bags were filled with dehydrated vegetables, soy, rice and vitamins. Each bag was then weighed, sealed and boxed for shipment.

It costs only 25 cents to produce a bag that will feed up to six hungry people. Much of the $250,000 needed to finance the weekend effort was collected in advance from generous sponsors and individuals, but more is still needed. Visit www.ffccsd.org to help to cover the remaining costs and help pay for the next event.

Remembering a beautiful young girl and helping to feed the hungry both here and aboard. Pretty good ways to spend a weekend, wouldn’t you agree?