Last week I had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Trail Running Conference in Mukilteo, Washington. Spending time with race directors, advocates, and inspired individuals from across the country recharged me. It was amazing how the entire theme of the conference echoed our beliefs at Wander Project. The ongoing message was: we all can do something to change the world.
This community talked so passionately about how running and being a part of the running community has changed their lives. How being a part of this community has inspired them to do more with their passions. And how we can all take steps towards increasing diversity, inclusion, and sustainability within the running world and beyond!
As I mentioned, this is not new to Wander Project and is indeed the foundation on which the organization was built. As a matter of fact, while I was at the conference, we had two different volunteer groups helping to clean up the beaches in Biscayne National Park. One group was set aside just for the Vacation Races staff prior to putting on the Everglades Half & 5K. The second was 12 Wander Project volunteers (many who had run the race the day before). These groups not only removed over 1,100 pounds of trash from remote beaches within the park, but they learned about the area, including the ecological and cultural issues that affect these communities.
So, while we all know there is plenty of work to be done, I couldn’t feel more grateful for being a part of the Wander Project community! We are continually inspired by your stories of why you are running or choosing a charity bib for your next event. We are continuously inspired by the work of our nonprofit partners in addressing the major issues facing communities around the world. And we are continuously inspired by the event companies that join us in giving all of these individuals and organizations a platform to turn their passions into purpose!
With that said, we are excited to announce new races coming to Wander Project soon (many of them opening within the next few days)! We are also growing our Wanderer’s Club and hope that our online basecamp will be a place where we can continue to discuss and implement ideas around diversity, inclusion, and sustainability within our community. And we couldn’t be more excited to welcome our newest staff member, Courtney, to provide even more support to those of you willing to do something to help create positive changes throughout our communities!