One of the annual traditions for the ACTIVEx Charity Challenge program that Mike’s company participates in is to celebrate the end of a great training and fundraising cycle with a swim out to the 1/4 mile buoy in La Jolla Cove. Once everyone has arrived, the leader of ACTIVEx, Arch, gives a speech and pops a bottle of champagne to celebrate the hard work that everyone has put in both training and fundraising for a sports-oriented charity (the charity itself changes to year to year).
This year the ACTIVEx Charity Challenge program raised funds for Kids in the Game, an organization that helps underprivileged children participate in local sports programs. Kids in the Game raises funds and distributes them to local Youth Sports Organizations that request funding. Essentially they serve as the middle man between a person who wants to help “get a kid in the game” and the program itself. At the Bubbly to Buoy event on Friday I met Tara, the Events Manager, who explained that since ACTIVE is a San Diego company, the funds raised via the ACTIVEx Charity Challenge would go to local San Diego sports organizations. In particular, much of the money would go to the organization very dear to my heart, Girls on the Run!
Bubbly to Buoy is an annual tradition that always occurs on the Friday night just before the Solana Beach Triathlon. A large group of ACTIVE employees and their families meet at La Jolla Cove, suit up in their wetsuits and make the 1/4 mile swim (a significant accomplishment for many who have learned to swim in open water just a month or two before the event in preparation for their first triathlon!) out to one of the buoys. It was a great feeling to walk down to the water with so many fellow athletes, knowing that we were all a team.
We all started to swim together and slowly made our way out to the buoy. Once everyone was there, Arch made a speech, shook up a bottle of champagne and popped the cork! He passed the bottle around and then opened about five more bottles. We all took sips of the champagne and passed it around to each other. After about ten minutes of drinking and chatting, we all swam back to shore and enjoyed a yummy catered dinner from Urban Plates, discussing mostly the upcoming triathlon.
This was such a great way to celebrate and I later learned at the triathlon on Sunday that the Active Network raised over $60,000 for Kids in the Game! I am so happy that Mike was able to join the ACTIVEx team and be a part of such an inspiring part of the company and were looking forward to many more Charity Challenges, ACTIVEx Camps, Bubbly2Buoys and Solana Beach Triathlons! (Race report for Solana Beach Triathlon coming soon!)
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