When I was first told about CrossFit for Hope from Josh Murphy I was intrigued. CrossFit has give me so much and I have seen the positive affect on so many others, it was always a goal and important for me to give back. Whether, allowing less fortunate members continue to train, running local events, or hosting small fundraisers, we were always doing something. The problem was we were so diverse it was often overlooked and not a focus.

 

With Hope it gave us an opportunity to focus on one common cause children in need.

 

I didn’t know too much about St. Jude. I had only heard it was a great cause and CrossFit was behind it, so I was too. It was definitely a competition and I wanted to win, but seeing the community come together was the most rewarding part of Hope 2012.

 

When we won, my immediate thoughts were we have to repeat.

 

Since we were the top affiliate I was lucky enough to be invited to Memphis, Tennessee for a tour of the St. Jude Children’s hospital and like I said earlier, it was definitely life changing.

 

Seeing the children the have cancer still smiling and happy makes you realize how much we take for granted. How often have you gotten upset because of traffic, or your co-worker is annoying, or you don’t set a PR? These children have brain cancer yet still look at the bright side of life!

 

The effort all of the doctors and employees put in is sensational. We spoke with Dr. Morris the head of the Physical Therapy unit and a researcher and you can see the passion they both have in helping the children. 

 

Everything is free and it is amazing. Families do not spend one dollar while their children are there. The facility itself is tremendous. From music and craft rooms to the Target house where longer term patients stay, it was incredible to see that the money we raised was truly being put to good use. Overall, CrossFit raised just over 1.5 million dollars, which is about the cost it takes to run St. Jude for one day.

 

CrossFit did it right. They picked an amazing cause, they made it a competition (and we crushed it), and they designed a killer WOD; however, more important than all of that they chose the right cause. 

 

I want to repeat next year as CrossFit for Hope affiliate champions. However, this time we aren’t starting our campaign because it’s a competition, we are doing it because it the right thing to do and I can’t think of a better charity than St. Jude Children’s research hospital.