When COVID restrictions made our annual January marathon impossible, the staff and students of IVDU had a choice.
Let the teamwork, dedication, commitment, and discipline – all aspects of the marathon experience – slide away? Or spearhead a novel initiative to bring people together and help make dreams come true in new ways? IVDU has been participating in marathons for over ten years. With COVID shutting down so many other opportunities for our students, no marathon was simply not an option. The living lessons and the skills our students gain from the marathon cannot be replicated in a classroom setting.
So, as always, IVDU chose to say YES to new opportunities! This year we will be running, biking, and swimming our way through the American Dream mall – the IVDU Dream Triathlon. Marathon participation provides a sense of inclusion in a mission much bigger than anything one person can do individually. It promotes a sense of ambition, of accomplishment, of achievement, and it gives each student the opportunity to say, “Yes, I can,” instead of “No, I can’t.”
This will be an innovative opportunity for our students to participate as athletes on their own personal teams. Our students are taking full responsibility for fundraising, goal setting, and training for the triathlon. They are learning new skills as they set and work towards their individual dreams! The funds that our students raise will go towards helping their IVDU friends pay for summer camp and other enriching opportunities.
Giving to others, and having the opportunity to help make their friends’ lives better, bestows a deeper level of responsibility and empowerment onto our students. They are not the takers in this event. They are the givers.