Running to build hope for childhood cancer
“I am not really a runner,” Roc Solid’s Board of Directors member and Vice President of Finance at Ethika Chris Wilkerson shares. “My mission is to sacrifice my time and energy to raise money to support building more hope.” Chris just ran 55 miles down the coast of southern California to fundraise for Roc Solid Foundation—almost double his goal of 30 miles. Chris has built playsets through Roc Solid’s playset program and helped pack Roc Solid Ready Bags for families when they are diagnosed with childhood cancer, and he has seen firsthand the impact that hope brings to these families.
More miles = more hope for kids fighting cancer
“My goal was to run 31 miles but my hope was to make it to 50. Each donation is building hope for me to go more miles,” Chris shares. On May 28th, Chris ran from San Clemente CA to Long Beach CA on the Pacific Coast Highway. Before he began, Chris shared, “I know it will be a challenge with some lows, but knowing it will help bring hope to families dealing with pediatric cancer will be my fuel to push on.”
Chris was first introduced to Roc Solid at a playset build in 2016 for a family whose son was fighting leukemia. “I had no idea what to expect and was overwhelmed with how amazing the experience was,” Chris shares. Chris was hooked on bringing the hope he experienced that day to as many families fighting pediatric cancer as possible. Since then, Chris has joined Roc Solid’s Board of Directors and has built many more playsets for kiddos fighting cancer all around the US.
Fundraising on Fitness
When he decided to take it a step further and raise money for the cause, he was inspired by a college friend to use his love for fitness to build hope. Chris explains, “I recently got into running about a year ago when a fellow grad school student and myself talked about raising money for nonprofits. We thought we could try and raise money by doing Ironman Triathlons. I ended up doing my first half Ironman about a year ago and it was not easy. After that, I devoted more time to training for Ironman races which led me on this path to do an Ultra Marathon run for Roc Solid.”
Families First
“Roc Solid’s mission was a catalyst for further building my personal values which consist of family, courage and love,” Chris shares. Roc Solid is committed to putting families first and building hope no matter what—a value that extends beyond the families we love and serve and into our team, Board of Directors and volunteer communities. Through those values, Chris has been able to welcome people into Roc Solid’s impact through his Ultra Marathon. Chris raised over $10,000 through running this spring and looks forward to continuing the impact this year.
You can still make an impact through supporting Chris’ marathon. Learn more about Chris’ Ultra Marathon here and click here to donate to his GoFundMe to benefit Roc Solid Foundation. Together, we will one day love and serve every child and family fighting pediatric cancer.
Making an Impact
“I would like to thank Roc Solid for allowing me the opportunity to make an impact on people’s lives. It has opened my eyes to so much more in life and a new seed was planted in my life on my first build. That seed continues to grow and is flourishing into something that I never imagined,” Chris shares.
If you want to get involved to build hope with Roc Solid, check out our website or email us at info@rocsolidfoundation.org.
