This March, Harrison will be running the Jerusalem Half Marathon as part of Team Shalva.
This was very much Harrison’s idea.
He first learned about Shalva and the Jerusalem Marathon at a presentation at his high school. He came home wanting to participate, and in fact wanted to run the full marathon. At 16, he is not old enough to enter the full marathon, so he will have to settle for the half at 21.1 kilometres.
What impressed us most was that he did not wait for permission to start preparing.
Harrison had never really been a distance runner. His main athletic focus has been Jiu Jitsu, which he has pursued with dedication for some time. But once he decided he wanted to take on the Shalva challenge, he simply started running. Over the next few weeks, entirely on his own initiative, he worked his way up to regular 8 km training runs before we had even agreed that he could sign up.
That determination is a big part of why we are so excited to support him in doing this.
Shalva was already familiar to our family. Several members of our extended family have supported the organization, and we also have a personal family connection to its work. Shalva provides an extraordinary range of services for children and adults with disabilities and their families, including therapy, education, recreation, respite, employment training, independent living programs and opportunities for greater inclusion.
Harrison now has the next challenge ahead of him: building from 8 km to 21.1 km and arriving in Jerusalem ready to take on the half marathon.
This is a two-person Team Shalva page, so Jesse will be participating as well. Because Harrison is still a minor, he needs to travel with a parent or chaperone, and Jesse will be joining Team Shalva for the 5K. But Harrison is very much the main event here.
We also want to be transparent about how the Team Shalva program works. For international participants who meet their fundraising commitments, the program includes travel and accommodation. Since we are asking friends and family to support Harrison and Shalva, it was important to us that our family make a meaningful financial contribution as well. We are starting the campaign with a $2,500 donation of our own.
Together, our goal is to raise $9,000 for Shalva.
Harrison will take care of the training, the Toronto winter running, the hills of Jerusalem and those final kilometres to the finish line.
We hope you’ll consider supporting him along the way, and in doing so, supporting the remarkable work Shalva does for people with disabilities and their families.
Thank you for supporting Harrison, Team Chaim and Shalva.
