Four local CrossFit locations held a fundraiser on December 21 that raised over $4,700 for the Lt. Michael J. Chiapperini and Tomasz M. Kaczowka Memorial Scholarship at Monroe Community College.
The scholarship was launched last year by Christine and Jim Wheeler (Naples, Fla., formerly of Webster) with the Monroe Community College Foundation to honor the memories of Chiapperini and Kaczowka—members of the West Webster Fire Department who lost their lives on December 24, 2012.
Led by CrossFit Park Avenue, members from CrossFit Fruition, CrossFit Rochester and CrossFit Paradigm Performance donated $24 or more before completing their 24-minute workout routines.
Raising funds in memory of Lt. Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka was especially meaningful to CrossFit gyms members. According to Allison Santoro, who helped organize the event, a significant percentage of the Crossfit membership is active or associated with first responders in our community.
CrossFit is a principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. Instead of using complicated machinery and following a predictable workout schedule on a week-to-week basis, members incorporate kettlebells, pull-up bars, and barbells into their workouts with other high explosive bodyweight movements that force the body to move the way it was designed to move.
Effortlessly Healthy, a unique, individual meal delivery service, food truck and catering company was also supported the event, sponsoring a raffle and donating to the cause.
As a result of the CrossFit event and fundraising efforts by nearly 40 individuals and groups across the community including the Monroe County Fire Chiefs Association who have joined the Wheelers, more than $40,000 has been raised to endow the scholarship. MCC students Matthew Speer (Greece) and Cory Thayer (Webster) are the first recipients of the Lt. Michael J. Chiapperini and Tomasz M. Kaczowka Memorial Scholarship. Both recipients plan to pursue careers as first responders, following in the footsteps of Chiapperini and Kaczowka, an MCC alumnus and student respectively. Going forward, two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students in the program each year.
Our thanks to all the generous donors who have contributed to the Lt. Michael J. Chiapperini and Tomasz M. Kaczowka Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Karen Shaw
MCC Foundation
01/30/2014 |