Hi Friends!
I’m Jenna, a friend of Michele’s. I’ll be helping her along her Trans Am Tri journey by updating her blog along the way! She is all set in Orlando Florida and ready to start her 31mi swim tomorrow morning in Lake Cane!
I spoke with her earlier today. She is in good spirits and so excited! She says it is a beautiful venue and has sent along a few photos to share with you all:
About the race:
The TransAmTri is the longest and first official point to point ultra triathlon across a country. This is a semi-supported cross country triathlon from the East coast to the West coast. It starts with a 31mi swim in lake Cane Florida followed by a 3,150mi bike N to St. Augustine then W through 7 states to Furnace Creek, CA and finishes with a 310 mi run to Malibu, CA.
Throughout the month of June Michele is raising money for various Child Life programs across the country. She has selected one hospital/Child Life program from each state her route passes through.
Read more about Child Life and Michele’s fundraising efforts in her own words:
Charity Goal: 3400 miles = $3400.00 for seven child life departments of a children's hospital along the route.
Certified Child Life Specialists are educated and clinically trained in the developmental impact of illness and injury. Their role helps improve patient and family care, satisfaction, and overall experience.
Infants, children and youth confront a wide variety of stressful and potentially traumatic events that can impact their ability to cope. These experiences related to healthcare can lead to feelings of fear, confusion, loss of control and isolation that can inhibit their development and have negative effects on their physical and emotional health and well-being.
In both healthcare and community settings, Certified Child Life Specialists help infants, children, youth and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of acute and chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss and bereavement. They provide evidence-based, developmentally and psychologically appropriate interventions including therapeutic play, preparation for procedures, and education to reduce fear, anxiety, and pain.
Michele is a pediatric RN and triathlete. As a pediatric RN she works closely with Child Life Specialists and sees the transformation they bring to lives of children in hospital and their families. Michele is dedicating her 3400 mile journey to raise awareness and funding to support the powerful work of these specialist healthcare providers. The money will go directly to educational toys and materials for each of the child life departments within a children's hospital for every state that she traverses through on her journey from Florida to California
Links for each child life department
Keeping it to a specific department makes it more likely to not get lost in admin and get education and toys directly to infants, youth and teens in hospital. If you do make a donation, please add the transamtri.com link so the Child Life Specialists can let kids learn some geography.
Follow Michele on her live tracker here: http://trackleaders.com/transamtri21
Comments