Why a Scholarship?

I actually had the idea to run 12 marathons in 12 months before I developed the idea of starting a scholarship for West Clermont High School. I have never used my running to fund raise and knew that if I ever did I wanted the money to stay in my community.

I was researching local charities at the end of 2016 when two events occurred that made me realize helping West Clermont students go to college could have a huge impact on our community. One event was the community dinner my friend and colleague organizes. West Clermont families attend this event so they can have a Thanksgiving dinner.

The second event was a powerful Facebook post written by another West Clermont teacher. She had a student that was homeless, surviving (barely) in a hotel room with the prospect that Christmas would come and go without any gifts for the student and her younger siblings. The community rallied and the teacher was able to deliver gifts to that family Christmas Eve.

These are amazing examples of the generosity of the West Clermont community and staff. They are heartfelt and create memorable and warm holidays for West Clermont families. What they do not do, however, is end the generational poverty of our community. If we can somehow get these amazing students through college or vocational school, they can get jobs that will support a family. They will be able to create their own Thanksgiving and Christmas memories.

This is the goal of the Run for the Future Scholarship Fund - to not just help our students through the rough times, but to provide them with the resources to one day soar on their own.

I recently thought (dreamt big) about the impact that would be made if we can award this scholarship for at least twenty years. If all those recipients one day had two children of their own, we would have potentially helped two classroom of children escape poverty. This is why I am fighting for my dream to be reality.