by Karen Voss Szymanski
Every year the RMRR Club receives a generous grant from Qwest to use toward helping people to achieve their goals in fitness and well being. This year the club is using the money to support a group of individuals using fitness, particularly running, to help them break free of their addictions. Twenty memberships were granted to members from the Denver Rescue Mission through the efforts of Nick Sterner of the AIR Foundation. (Nick leads the running programs locally at the Denver Rescue Mission and Urban Peak of Denver.) We will follow these men on their journey to wellness as they train for the Colfax half and full Marathon event. You will meet them either in passing or directly at the RMRR trophy series races. The following is some information about the organization, their beginnings and mission. We will keep you updated on their progress and feature each one of them for our newsletter throughout 2008.
The following description is from the website, www.AIRfoundation.org. The AIR Foundation, established in 2007 is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to inspiring, training, and supporting those desiring to rehabilitate themselves and achieve their true greatness. Participants in our programs are able to get back on their feet and start their lives a new with a better connection to their community and a healthy foundation for the rest of their lives. To provide the necessary coaching, training, support, and inspiration to those in need of rehabilitation, so that they may create a vibrant, healthy, and satisfying life through healthy living, consistent training, goal setting, and athletic achievement.
Just in case you are wondering, AIR stands for Activity Inspired Rehabilitation. Their
Mission Statement is one we all can relate to on some level:
At The AIR Foundation we believe that everyone possesses athletic ability & talent that when discovered, nurtured & inspired can create a new identity and passion for life. The accomplishments or our participants serve not only to build their self-esteem and confidence, but also to inspire others to accomplish their goals as well. There is no feeling in the world like that of athletic accomplishment. Knowing that you pushed your limits and did more than you ever thought was possible is what you will experience and discover with our AIR programs. What accomplishment does for one’s self esteem, and the euphoria that accompanies it is better than any addictions one might have had in the past.
Next article: an interview with members of AIR.