The Because Challenge: Banding Together to Break the Cycle of Foster Care
On Saturday, March second, a determined crew of volunteers and Commission 127 staff met at 6am at Blue Jacket Park. Armed with walkie talkies and schedules on clipboards, the teams began to set up their assigned stations. Around 8am the first waves of participants started to arrive, eager to take on the first ever Because Challenge. Hundreds of gray t-shirts emblazoned with the race logo gathered at the registration tables, moms and dads pushed full strollers, and toddlers danced vivaciously to the music blaring through the speakers at the DJ’s booth.
The Because Challenge was an ambitious, multidimensional event dedicated to breaking the harmful cycle of foster care by bringing awareness, rallying support, and raising donations. The 1.27 mile obstacle course race was designed to illuminate just how destructive it is for vulnerable children to be removed from their homes and placed in foster care.
The event aimed to show that foster care is a self-perpetuating cycle that can only be broken with love and support. Most every facet of our C127 family was represented there. From foster and adoptive families to advocates, volunteers, and donors, hundreds of racers conquered the course while learning about the foster care crisis and what we can all do to make a difference.
When the race finally began at 9am, family “teams” were released one at a time across the starting line, and they headed towards the gauntlet of eight “disruption zones:” challenges designed to simulate the real life hardships that kids in the foster care system face every day. The first obstacle the teams encountered was the “dividing wall.” At this zone, families would approach a giant wedge with a sign pointing to the left for boys and one pointing to the right for girls. This disruption forced the teams to separate momentarily, and it represented the hard reality that kids are often separated from their own siblings when they are placed in foster care by no choice or fault of their own. Mark Maronick, an advocate who ran the race with his family, said, “I especially loved getting to see my children begin to understand more about the great need for us to show Christ’s love through our support of these families and children.”
Other disruption zones simulated unique challenges and stressors that kids and foster parents face in the foster care system, like having countless hoops to jump through each month and navigating new school systems after a placement change. Zone 3, for example, featured hurdles for teams to jump over, representing the hurdles in the way of reunification for each child, like court visits, case worker visits, and other challenges. These obstacles, as signs explained at the Challenge, all too often cause foster families to quit, leaving vulnerable kids displaced yet again. Reflecting on the event, Maronick said, “My favorite thing about the Because Challenge was the opportunity to break the cycle of foster care as an entire family.”
As the course drew to its end, teams ran through a “color zone” where volunteers hurled colored powder at them. Elated and vibrantly colored, kids and their families ran underneath an inflatable finish arch as the emcee announced their team name and onlookers cheered and clapped enthusiastically. To summarize his and his family’s experience at the Because Challenge, Maronick said, “There was a beautiful energy, purpose, and love at the heart ofthe entire Because Challenge. It was truly a joy for our family to be able to unite together in that energy, purpose, and love.”
The Because Challenge proved to be a memorable and impactful event, and we are so grateful for everyone who made it possible to rally together and work to break the cycle of foster care!
