ARCH

Since moving to Colorado, I have been blown away with Colorado Children’s Hospital. The doctors, the therapists, the facilities & the programs offered.

One of the program that we have Elliott involved in is a program called, ARCH (Adaptive Recreation for Childhood Health). This program focuses specifically on helping kids with any varying degree of disabilities, by building confidence through sports and recreation. ARCH offers a wide range of services including rock climbing, golf, horseback riding, fishing, water sports, adaptive skiing/winter sports, archery, fencing, yoga & cycling.

From the beginning of Elliott’s diagnosis, we have been adamant about teaching him, and others, that Cerebral Palsy is a lifelong condition that he has, but it is not something that defines him. ARCH teaches kids exactly that same message and provides services that are not readily available to anyone at such a young age.

Some of the programs offered, such as skiing and horseback riding, are for kids a bit older (8 years old), but what Elliott is eligible for, we have signed him up immediately. He has been able to do things such as rock climbing, golf, fencing & later this summer will be sailing and fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our family is a big fan of this program, and we will continue to support and work with them through the years.

However, in order to keep a program like this so successful, there is fundraising involved. One of the biggest fundraisers they do during the year is a bike ride called The Courage Classic. This ride goes through Vail & Copper Pass in the Colorado Mountains. The tagline for the event is, “Join your community to create a better world for children, dollar by dollar, pedal by pedal, one mountain pass at a time.”

As soon as Nathan heard about this opportunity it was a no brainer for him to join in on the fun and raise money for such an amazing cause. So, he joined the ARCH race team and will be riding 80 miles over Vail Pass in the course of two days. He has been going on long weekly bike rides to prepare for this big event & raise awareness on Elliott’s journey. I couldn’t be more proud of him.

We would love your support if you feel so inclined to donate to his fundraising page. I have linked all the information here. 100% of the proceeds go back to ARCH in order to fund these amazing opportunities that Elliott, and so many others, gets to participate in throughout the year.

Building confidence through movement, trying new things, surrounding kids with others who have challenges & creating a community of support are just some of the many perks we have already witnessed through ARCH. I can’t wait to see what more there is to come as Elliott gets older and more involved.

I will be documenting and following up with another post on the ride after it is complete at the end of the month, so stay tuned for more & thank you in advance for your support!

For more information on ARCH, please follow the link here.

Form more information on the Courage Classic, please follow the link here.

_{**If you don’t live in Colorado, and are looking for a program such as this one, I encourage you by starting with your local children’s hospital. If they don’t have anything, they would be able to point you in the right direction.**}