In the Mom Lane: Race for Warriors

A few weeks back during one my far too frequent trips to the vet, I noticed a poster. “K9 Adventure Race!” it advertised. A local company organized a race at the local police SWAT training facility. Cool. The race is actually part of a fundraiser for an organization, which provides service dogs to wounded and recovering veterans.

Interesting race, check. Fundraising for a good cause, check. Sounds right up my alley!

Unfortunately, like so many things that I don’t write down, I walked out the door and the idea floated right away with the breeze.

Mom brain strikes again.

Then, in my swag bag from a Fourth of July 5K, the organizers offered a reminder and an incentive. Flyer! Discount code! Bonus!

I checked it out: It’s a team race! Snap. Gotta find a team! Time to rally the mamas.

Let me side bar for a moment and mention the awesomeness of my mom friends. We got hooked together when our kids were wee ones for group play dates. The kids are still friends and so are the moms (and dads). I’m so grateful to have them in my life to celebrate the good times, support each other in the tough ones, to share a laugh, a cry and sometimes (when we can escape for a moms night!) a drink. AND to run a crazy race.

Rally they did! Team Escaped Moms Club is signed up and fundraising!

Here’s the rundown of the K9s for Warriors Adventure Race, hosted by Fine Earth, LLC:

The race is made up of three levels. Advanced (“elite athletes” i.e. NOT us), intermediate (we are this kind of crazy, however) and the beginners course (a walk). The event itself is all day with food trucks, music and stuff for all ages to enjoy.

The beneficiary: K9s for Warriors, a 501c3 out of Florida. A review of their website provided the following information: corporate sponsors cover their operating costs. This means 100% of other donations (such as those from individuals) go to their programs. The majority (95%) of their service dogs are from shelters or rescues. Cue amazement. Every other service dog organization (with which I am familiar) uses dogs bred specifically for life as a service dog, and begins training them as puppies. K9s for Warriors began training teams of warriors and their service dogs in 2014. At the time of this post, they’ve graduated 236 teams, and have a 90% re-certification rate. Read more about K9s for Warriors.

I’m stoked! Fundraising for quality NPOs is important to me. I feel it’s something small that I can do to contribute to the greater good. In supporting this NPO (and others) I help better our country and world. With this one in particular, my efforts serve to support those who serve in our military. This is one of my habits that I hope to instill in my kids! 😉

Join us in supporting this worthwhile cause! Below are links with additional information, and a video that I found on the main website for the race. (Good luck watching without getting choked up.)

Thanks for reading. Happy trails and support our troops!