I know, I know, you were on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what my goals for Tri 4 Schools in 2013 are! I had to build a little suspense though, it’s what good writers do. You understand, don’t you?
This week our new intern, Jennifer, starts working with us on the Tri 4 Schools team, and since I want her to introduce herself to you, I figured I better wrap up my thoughts and let her take the wheel!
So, without further ado, here are my four main goals for Tri 4 Schools this year:
1. At least 10% of our participants will be members of the Latino community: the landscape of Dane County is changing, and we need to reflect that. Also, as a non-profit that prides ourselves on ending childhood obesity, we need to look at the cold, hard facts. Those facts tell us that the majority of children dealing with obesity are in the low-income and minority populations. One of the largest minorities in Madison is our growing Hispanic population. I feel a deep sense of obligation and commitment to this group of citizens since I speak Spanish (studied since middle school, lived in Chile during college). So, this year I am partnering with La Movida, El Centro Guadalupe, Centro Hispano, the Latino Health Council, and the Catholic Multicultural Center to reach out to this community. We also received some help from the Endres Manufacturing Company and Alpha Graphics of Middleton to help us print materials in Spanish as well as English. Finally, listen for yours truly in a Spanish Public Service Announcement on La Movida (1480AM)!
2. Increase scholarship participants from 97 to 200: Between our first year and second year, we had a dramatic increase in scholarships, which was one of my proudest achievements. We went from just 12 kids on scholarship to 97! There’s lots more to do from there though, and we have been so fortunate to have help from the Downtown Madison Kiwanis, Group Health Cooperative, and Endres Manufacturing to help us in this effort. Now we just need to work with our school and community partners to identify kids who would like to participate, and voila! Hopefully we’ll have even more than that, but I think doubling in a year is a good starting point.
3. Average 500 participants in each of our four youth events: I’d like to see us reach 2,000 kids this year. Our triathlons are capped at 500 participants, but the Mud Runs are not capped, and I’m hoping these will be popular options for kids who maybe aren’t ready to give a triathlon a go just yet. Our Middleton triathlon has been around 400 kids both years, and I’d like to see that sell out this year. We are developing our marketing strategies accordingly, and if we meet this goal, it will be very likely we meet goal #4, which is…
4. Donate $40,000 to schools: Eek! I just got goosebumps seeing that in print. It’s a huge number. However, last year we donated almost $18,000 for two events. So, with four events I’m hoping we can double it, and if we increase our attendance at both triathlons, we will likely hit this mark! By the end of year three, we will have donated $68,000 to schools! Wow!
Will you help us meet these goals in 2013? Let’s pledge to work together to get kids active and help them enjoy being healthy and active in school as well!
Swim. Bike. Run. THRIVE.
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