Chris and I have now biked, ran, and swam our way through nearly a third of our total miles, due in no small part to our biking adventure to kick things off. With school starting up again, our ambitious pace may taper slightly, but we are in a very strong position with regards to this at the moment, and I have no doubt that, while we still have a lot of work ahead of us, we will achieve our goal.
Having both returned to Cville to start spring semester this past weekend, we began a new and uniquely trying component of Thankful for 2013, community service. We both spent 2 ½ hours early on Saturday morning working with the Rivanna Trails Foundation to help improve and repair the vast network of trails that encompasses the city. It was a rewarding, albeit muddy, way to spend a Saturday morning, and it was nice to see the tangible impact of what we had done. Since then we have met with Madison House to discuss our fundraising campaign, and to look into further service opportunities. I’m glad to say that, in addition to continuing working with the Rivanna Trails Foundation once a month, as well as doing other environmentally directed service, Chris and I will volunteering through Madison House’s “Hoo’s Assisting with Life Obstacles” (HALO) program. Chris will be volunteering at the Haven, a local homeless shelter, and I will be tutoring at a regional prison. We both will also be helping out weekly at the HOPE center afterschool program with other members of our fraternity beginning in February.
That’s your update regarding our progress, but, this being my first blog post, I’d also like to say a little bit about why I am doing this.
I’m not usually one to publicize what I do, especially if it’s something good, as I believe the Thankful for 2013 campaign is. While I have no problem bragging about certain things, it is usually in jest, and when it comes to the things I really feel passionate about, I am generally inclined to remain silent. Maybe this is because I feel that if I talk about these things they will in some way loose their sacredness to me, maybe I fear I’ll come across as arrogant and doing the deeds for a resume rather than as ends in themselves, maybe it’s just my nature to be this way. I’d reckon it’s probably a mix of the three. Anyway, Chris and I had talked about getting in great shape and volunteering a lot this semester, but it was all his idea to put a name on it and make it public, and I thank him for it. Writing this is something that is hard for me to do, and I will undoubtedly feel uncomfortable once this is posted, but I feel like this is a learning experience and a chance to serve the UVA/Cville community that I won’t get after I graduate, and something that I can’t let slip away. While I’ve got more to say on this and the value of what we’re doing, I’ll wrap things up for this post, and expand on them later on in our campaign.
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to follow our campaign, and whether your support is financial, emotional, or otherwise, I can assure you that it is greatly appreciated. Information on how you can donate to our campaign and other ways to get involved, such as volunteering with us, joining us for a run, or writing a guest post for our blog will be available shortly. Also our newly appointed General Manager, David Aramony, will be helping us film a short promotional video, so keep an eye out for that.
Be thankful for 2013. Be thankful for life.
Written by Alex Shannon
