Hello Everyone!
I’m a seventeen-year-old who attends a private school, has a supportive community, and somehow convinced people to show up and run the race I dreamed up. I know this is a rare privilege. It sounds like the perfect setup for a “pat yourself on the back” moment when I tell you we donated all the proceeds to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
If I had done this entirely on my own, it would make for an impressive line on a resume. That isn’t how it happened. My mom assisted during the inception of the race and managed the behind-the-scenes on the day of the event. My dad handled the website, the filing with the state, and key logistics I didn’t have the skills for. Friends and their parents volunteered as course monitors at road crossings to ensure everyone’s safety. Another videographer friend took footage of the event.
The Episcopal Collegiate cross-country and track teams were quick to sign up, along with faculty and staff from the school. Their presence gave the race the energy it needed. Also, not to mention, runners who I had no previous connections with, showing up for the love of the sport. Epopeo was never a one-person effort. It took a community to bring it to life.
So why donate to Arkansas Children’s Hospital?
There are plenty of excellent running nonprofits that could have been a strong match for our first donation. Girls on the Run, Achilles International, and Back on My Feet all promote endurance, confidence, and personal challenge, values Epopeo shares. Supporting an athletic nonprofit that reflects our style of event would have made sense on paper.
However, given Epopeo’s youth-focused event and values of living life to the fullest, we thought it only right to give back to an organization that helps accomplish just that for children. As the prominent children’s hospital with a wide reach across the entire state, we chose Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Who do these donations help?
We didn’t know how much the first Epopeo event would raise. When the total reached $10,000, we took time to decide where it could have the greatest effect. After talking with my parents and the hospital itself, we chose to put the money towards the Child Life program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
The hospital’s work reflects the courage, resilience, and commitment that Epopeo celebrates. ACH’s patient activity specialists work with child life specialists to lead group play sessions for patients and siblings, help organize birthday parties, end-of-treatment celebrations, and continued education, and coordinate special visitors and gifts. These moments matter because they give children joy in a sometimes hopeless and drab hospital room.
If you’d like to help them continue that work, you can donate here: www.archildrens.org/donate.
What comes next?
Epopeo will grow. We’ll host more events and continue building a community where runners can test themselves in new ways. In the future, we may expand our donations to nonprofits focused more on running or offering even more unique racing formats, all while trying to spur on the call to adventure.
The first race set a high bar in how we view the potential of participation. With incredible passion and generous donations, we will strive to bring in more eager runners to push the limit even further.