This past summer, on a Saturday long run, some of the boys on the cross country team ran to collect pledges from family and neighbors for RefugeeOne, ending up with $10,209 for the organization, exceeding their original expectations.

This past summer, on a Saturday long run, some of the boys on the cross country team ran to collect pledges from family and neighbors for RefugeeOne, ending up with $10,209 for the organization, exceeding their original expectations.  RefugeeOne assists refugees in coming to the United States and settling into a new life. It helps refugees from many different countries, such as Venezuela and Syria.

The team decided to run for RefugeeOne because the head coach David Wisner’s family had been working with the organization.

“A family came in from Syria and my mom was one of the ones who gave money and helped to set them up in an apartment, so I’ve been helping them with English. I’ve been doing that once every two weeks,” said junior Luke Wisner who has been on the team for the last three years.

The team’s efforts payed off, as the amount of money they raised had a significant impact on the organization. Wisner explained that recently RefugeeOne’s funding has been cut. “We were able, with the money we donated, to get their daycare back up, so what they do is when they have refugees taking English classes, they keep their kids at a daycare, but since their funding was cut they didn’t have enough money to keep it going. But because of what we raised, they can now open it again.”

Wisner ran 13 miles, and stated that while he was tired, it was also a great team experience. However, not all of the boys came out to run for the organization; some chose to not run for political reasons. “I know that it’s kind of a controversial topic, but it’s just helping people so I thought that it was a good idea,” said Wisner.

Many of those who did run shared that the run was definitely a rewarding experience despite the longer distance. Wisner ran 13 miles, and stated that while he was tired, it was also a great team experience. However, not all of the boys came out to run for the organization; some chose to not run for political reasons. “I know that it’s kind of a controversial topic, but it’s just helping people so I thought that it was a good idea,” said Wisner.

Many of those who did run shared that the run was definitely a rewarding experience despite the longer distance.

Junior Will Gibbons said that he not only enjoyed running with his friends, but also that his family were political refugees from Cuba, giving this runathon a greater purpose. “This hits very close to home, helping other refugees.”

“The runathon worked so well because we’re obviously a running team, and just to fold it in with our usual long run and actually give that meaning and purpose beyond just training was really cool,” noted junior Charlie Forbes. “It was one of my longer runs ever but it also helped to raise a lot of money for these refugees.”

Another senior captain, Patrick Norrick, ran 16 miles. “I felt tired, but I was glad that I was able to raise money for a good cause while doing something that I love,” he stated. One of the parts that he really enjoyed about the fundraiser was organizing it and getting to learn more about RefugeeOne.

The fundraiser was a team effort and brought together many different runners from the school. The entire cross country team (all the freshman, sophomore, and varsity athletes) ran with each other, which normally doesn’t happen, according to Forbes. “We all did a lap at the start together, which was really cool.” Although one of the senior captains Zach Crispino was injured at the time and unable to run, he still biked with the team and his family donated money.

“RefugeeOne is a great organization. These people, they face so many challenges in their lives, so many more than we do, and so to give back is really nice. I know a lot of money went to helping the kids get school supplies and things like that to get ready for the school year. A lot of them don’t even know English, so anything to help them out is fantastic,” stated Forbes.