On November 13, months of planning and training paid off for the 11th annual LVs Run. Twenty-four Lasallian Volunteers (LVs), two Brothers, three Alums, and five family member and friends participated in the 11th annual LVs Run in San Francisco, California. This event surpassed its goal of $60,000 and raised over $62,000. Donations are still being received.
Mari Irby, a second-year LV serving at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, New York, and a member of the run committee, offered this reflection on her experience.
For the 10 years prior to this year’s LVs Run, the run has generated a considerable amount of money for Lasallian Volunteers. It has been a great opportunity for the program to fundraise and increase the resources it has available so that the program can continue to recruit, train and accompany LVs during their year or years of service. Raising over $60,000 and surpassing our goal through LVs Run this year was no easy feat but the point of the fundraiser, to me, had very little to do with actually raising all of the money as much as it did raising awareness for our program and ultimately allowing us the opportunity to share the story of Lasallian Volunteers. That story is one I am blessed to be a part of and one I truly believe in.
During last year’s LVs Run, I was a participant and not involved with the process of planning and organizing the event, and so I had a different perspective on its importance. This year was a different story. As a member of the run committee, along with Matt Billings (serving at La Salle Academy in Manhattan, New York) and Tidiany Diarra (serving at La Salle Academy in Albany, New York), I felt a very different level of importance geared toward the success of the run. The feeling of fulfillment that came both with finding out that we had reached our monetary goal and the excitement of the volunteers who worked so hard to take part in it was overwhelming. To work alongside students, residents and clients who have endured so much and yet still work hard to better themselves is a profound privilege I have within this program.
As second-year LV John Schatz aptly put it, “LVs Run also serves as a morale booster to everybody involved in the program. I, for one, returned to DeLaSalle High School with a revitalized passion for the Lasallian mission and my students are better off for it.”
The success of this run and all the fun that we had spending time together as a cohort further affirms the necessity of this program and what raising money through LVs Run each year could mean to secure the program’s future and that of those we serve.
As I reflect on the run, I am so humbled when I realize how much support we have for this program, made obvious by the generous donations from people all over the nation. I hoped that the run would double as a reminder to all of us why we must continue what we are doing; certainly, if the success of the run did not do that, the overwhelming outreach from alums, donors, family and friends could. The implications of the service we do exceed far beyond what is expected of young adults, especially in current times. I look forward to all of the things this program has in its future and I’m never short of gratefulness for being a part of this journey.