One of the best things about living on St. John is meeting cool new people. Tonight was no exception.
It was just a regular night in Cruz Bay when I ran into Aaron Hale and his friend Jaclynn Larington. The two are on island to run the 8 Tuff Miles race Saturday morning. But there’s a reason Aaron and Jaclynn stick out among the more than 1,000 runners – Aaron is blind, wounded while serving in the Army in Afghanistan in 2011. He will run tomorrow alongside Jaclynn who will serve as his guide, in an effort to raise money for Team River Runner.
Team River Runner believes that every wounded and disabled veteran deserves the opportunity to embrace new challenges. Team River Runner provides an outlet to fulfill these beliefs – inviting wounded and disabled war veterans and their families to participate in adaptive paddling programs. For those of you who read this site often, you may be familiar with Team River Runner. Each summer the Chaotic Kayak race is held to raise money for TRR. That money is then used to fund a trip for wounded veterans to visit our island each November.
Aaron will wear Bib Number 777 during tomorrow’s race. He and Jaclynn will start at the end of the pack. Following in the footsteps of Moe Chabuz, Aaron too is asking people to donate a certain amount of money for each person he and Jaclynn pass along the route from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay.
We here at News of St. John commit to donating 50 cents for each runner Aaron and Jaclynn pass. We invite you to join us. Can you spare a dime?
For those of you who prefer to donate a set amount to support Aaron and Jaclynn, you can do that too. Their goal is to raise $7,000 and as of Friday night, they were at $1,265. You can donate online by clicking here.
Our readers have rallied before to support great causes and I know you all can once more. Thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart. -Jenn
