Morristown Boys go “off road” to raise funds!
Morristown boys go ‘off road’ to raise money for Kids2Kids
So what did you accomplish during COVID this summer? If you want to be impressed by a group of teenage boys–check this out!
Owen Genrich, Ciaran Myers, David Stephens, Dylan Kratochvil and Luca Hadley love to bike and decided to challenge themselves with a multi-day ride from Jackson Township, through the New Jersey Pine Barrens, to the lighthouse at Cape May this past July. Researching this 154 mile trek, on mostly off road trails, included: upgrading their equipment, figuring out daily ride totals, and planning campsites and their food and water requirements for the entire 3 night/4day adventure. As the plan came together they also realized that this was also a great way to provide support for a cause that has had to scale back due to COVID, ‘why not raise money for a cause doing what we love to do?!’–that’s when the boys decided to fundraise for Kids2Kids.
Kids2Kids is a Morristown based volunteer organization for kids run by kids. This non-profit organization has a mission to develop lifelong skills of special needs children through inspiring leadership of young adult mentors. All programming, which includes swimming, Tae KwonDo, yoga, basketball, art, drama and golf, are grounded in basic skill development and incredible peer relationships. The underserved special needs community usually has a difficult time finding the right program and right price for their child to just participate in an activity. With fundraising efforts like this multi-day bike ride, K2K programs are offered at low to minimal costs for special needs families.
Owen Genrich has been an active mentor with the K2K program, and realized that connecting his passion with his volunteerism was natural. “I have been involved with K2K’s mentoring program and knew additional money would be beneficial for the program and the kids.”
Mackenzie May, a founding member of K2K and a key mentor involved at the grassroots level to our current programming, had great reflection on the boys’ interest to fundraise: “This is a wonderful example of how our mentors are so passionate about K2K’s mission and going above and beyond to support our kids. After 15 years in operation, it is inspiring to see our efforts continue to grow and further develop our community. I want to thank these mentors on behalf of Kids2Kids for their continued dedication and above and beyond commitment.” Mackenzie is pictured here receiving the boy’s generous donation.
The boys trip started near Six Flags Safari Park with a herd of gazelles overlooking the start of the first 50 mile ride. “It was a little rough at first”, due to the rainy weather, but they soldiered on into the Pine Barrens along sandy tracks and numerous flat tires.
Each day was an adventure of hours of riding up hills, through unpopulated areas, past military bases testing explosives, and interesting interruptions ranging from exploring abandoned trains, planes, and monuments to assisting each other with bike maintenance and support. Each boy took turns leading the pack to provide a nice pocket for the followers to ease the ride a bit, with Luca taking the lion share of this role. They were a strong team throughout the entire length of the trip, from the minute they started in the rain to the moment they ran into the surf in Cape May.
“All in all it was a great trip. Of course we learned a lot along the way”, Dylan summarized. “We definitely will plan another outing as soon as we can”, added Ciaran. David explained that the group of them are entering their senior year at Morristown High and certainly have plenty to discuss on their upcoming college essays.
In total, the boys raised $2050 for K2K from donations made mostly by relatives and other local organizations. Better yet, there’s a group of very proud parents and accomplished young men that not only created some fun memories but are also enjoying philanthropic satisfaction. If you are interested in learning more about K2K programming or becoming a teen mentor, please visit our website at www.kidstokids.us
