By Sandi Adcox – Grand Junction, Colorado … The numbers are in, and they exceeded expectations from last month’s Elevate Kids fun run in Grand Junction. Intermountain Adventist Academy (IAA) and Kids Aid split the $14,000 raised by the event.
IAA plans to use its share of the profits to help expand the school and to offer ninth and tenth grades in the 2022 – 2023 school year.
Elevate Kids, a non-profit organization created by IAA board chairman, Doug McCaw II, and his wife, Melinda, aims to “help kids one step at a time.” Their first fundraiser was a documentary, “Chasing the Sky,” capturing the McCaw’s 490-mile, 18-day run on the Colorado Trail in July 2020.
The second fundraiser (the Fun Run on April 10) was a huge success, with 255 registrants participating in a timed run with options for a 2.5K, a 5K, or a 10K race, and supported by many local sponsors and volunteers.
Elevate Kids’ next fundraising event is scheduled for July 2022, when the McCaw’s will again run the Colorado Trail, setting out to break the fastest-known time in approximately seven days. Another documentary, “Chasing the Sky Again,” will be created, with proceeds going to IAA and Kids Aid.
With the success of the Fun Run, organizers are already planning the 2023 Fun Run for April 16, 2023
— Sandi Adcox is a Grand Junction Adventist Church member and Elevate Kids Run team member; photos supplied
