KEEP WILLOW WALKING UPDATE: WE MET OUR GOAL!

By Lisa

On Sunday, September 7, 2014, CrossFit Incendia hosted the 2nd Annual “Locals Only” Competition. This competition is in-house and designed for Incendians Only. It’s a day of competition, fun and fellowship that we look forward to every year. Last year we added in a charity component when we donated all funds raised to the Cystic Fibrosis Stairclimb and Firefighter Challenge and we felt that we needed to keep the charity aspect the focus of the 2014 event.

This year we selected Willow, the daughter of one of our founding members. Willow has Cerebral Palsy and has some special challenges with walking, something most of us take for granted. Willow is able to walk assisted with a walker right now, but her body is tightening the muscles in her legs so that she will need surgery and major therapy just to be able to walk in a walker. Willow’s mother felt that Pilates could help Willow’s muscles. Jessica studied this method and has been providing Willow the therapy she needs. There was an very expensive Pilates machine that Willow needed for this therapy and her family was saving money to purchase. Read Willow’s story here. 

Several athletes competed in “Locals Only” as we raised almost $1600 from admission and the 50/50 Raffle in that one day alone. (Thank you Jon B. for donating your raffle prize back to the fund!) It was a wonderful day and the vibe was electric. Willow even joined us to hand out the trophies to our winners! (RX: Logan D & Jenny K. Scaled: Jon B and Christine S).

Our group felt pretty accomplished from raising $1600 in ONE day, but then something amazing happened. The next day, I was contacted by two Incendians who offered to match what was raised, each donating an additional $800 to bring our total to $3200. All of us were completely stunned by the generosity of these individuals, but it wasn’t over. You know how they say that “Kindness is Contagious?” Well, we’re definitely believers now. These two members that offered to match the funds made some calls to their friends (who are also Incendians) and before I knew it, I had a pile of checks and cash on my kitchen table for Willow. And, this was by Friday, not even a week after the event! The only request made by the members who made the large donations was that I did not reveal their identities to the group because they didn’t do it for the recognition. Isn’t that cool?

The total of the contributions equal $5,725. That’s right: $5,725! We met our goal and Willow is getting the machine she needs for therapy. 

Thank you to everyone that was part of this day. You. Are. Incendia.