It’s rare. So rare that when you see it, you know immediately that it is very, very important. The whiteness of its light. It’s steadfastness. It’s resolve. But it’s hard to describe. Initially, we said it was “pure goodness”. Eventually, we decided that “Purity of Intent” was more appropriate. We’re still searching for the right words.

But we know where to find an example of it. San Diego, California. On Waples street to be more precise. On Thursday, we’re going to the headquarters of the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Challenged Athletes Foundation Headquarters

Goodness emanates from this place. CAF Headquarters

If you’re in endurance sports, you probably already know about the Challenged Athletes Foundation or “CAF”. But did you know that CAF has raised more than $47MM since its inception in 1997? Or did you know that in 2014 alone, they approved over 1,400 grants for more than $3.1 million?

The organization had humble but (as you might expect) very pure origins. It started off as a fundraiser to help Jim MacLaren. Jim was an author and a speaker and an athlete. In 1985, at the age of 22, he lost his left leg below the knee in a motorcycle accident. As with so many amazing people, he decided that he would focus on what he could do, not what he couldn’t. Jim went on to run a sub four hour marathon and finish Ironman Hawaii in under 11 hours.

Then, in one of those twists of fate that can never be understood in this life, he was struck by a van during the bike portion of a triathlon and was rendered a quadriplegic. The accident inspired people in the running community to raise funds to buy him a van. Out of this effort, the idea for CAF was born.

The CAF believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life. The people who run the organization work tirelessly and they go out of their way to put their mission ahead of themselves.

Coeur is honored to support CAF and on Thursday, we’re going to pay them a visit to drop off a check and a few pairs of women's tri tops and tri shorts to use as give away items. Now, it’s not a huge check but we have big aspirations and maybe someday it will be big!

We’d encourage everyone to take a look at their site. You may tear up when you read some of the stories but they’ll be good tears.

http://www.challengedathletes.org

Reginald Holden