The New Year of Lifting Hopes

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Bill Balderaz

It has been 2012 for 40 days now! It doesn’t seem that long at all. If you made a New Year’s Resolution how well have you done with keeping it? It may seem weird talking about the New Year in February, but we just had our first Lifting Hopes meeting of 2012 and that got me thinking of New Year’s and what this 2012 will bring to Lifting Hopes.

This is the third year for Lifting Hopes. The first two years went very well, we had so many volunteers, participants, and donations. Thinking about the past two years makes me even more excited for this year’s upcoming Lifting Hopes. So to bring in the “New Year” for Lifting Hopes I would like to tell you about a few changes you will see in the 2012 Lifting Hopes Pump and Run.

This year Lifting Hopes is going to focus all of our donations solely on Chapel Hill House. Chapel Hill House is a local retreat home for children with cancer and their families. The house is located in Prospect, Ohio. It is a 150-year-old log home on 72 acres of land. The home is a free retreat for children and families who need it most.

Lifting Hopes is excited to be backing Chapel Hill House with all of their donations this year. “We are excited to be able to support the lives of children that are facing cancer who live in our own communities.” said Mike Morgan, Co-Chair of Lifting Hopes.

Another big change for Lifting Hopes in 2012 is the ability to form teams. Lifting Hopes is excited to add a team aspect to the event. “We believe that having teams compete will add a new level of competition to the event”, said Bill Balderaz, co-Chair of Lifting Hopes.

The event will allow for teams of four to compete against other teams. This will add another level of competition to the event. The Lifting Hopes Pump and Run will no longer be an individual event to see how many reps you can get or how fast you can run, but something to do with and against your friends and co-workers.

We are excited about the changes we are making in 2012 and we hope that you are too! We will have more information about Chapel Hill House and running on a team soon. Registration will be available in March, but for now check out Chapel Hill House online at www.chapelhillhouse.org and start thinking about who you want to ask to be on your team!

Lifting Hopes Pump and Run 2011

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Bill Balderaz

It was great to have everyone out for the Lifting Hopes Pump and Run on October 2, 2011. The day turned out to be beautiful for a race. And the event was successful.

There were 6 different divisions for participants in the Pump and Run. There were the women’s age 39 and under- lifting 70% of their body weight, women’s age 40-49- lifting 60% of their body weight, and women’s age 50-59- lifting 50% of their body weight. For the men there were age divisions 39 and under- lifting 100% of their body weight, 40-49- lifting 90% of their body weight, and 50-59- lifting 80% of their body weight.

The winner of the women’s age 39 and under division was Brittany Beck. Brittany lifted 26 reps and ran the 5k race in 23:07, finishing with a final time of 10:07. The winner of the women’s 40-49 age division was Deb Pirkel. Deb completed all 30 reps and ran her 5k race in a time of 26:06, with a final time of 11:06. Kathleen Caudill came in first for the women’s 50-59 age division. She completed all 30 reps and finished her 5k race in a time of 27:39. Kathleen’s final time was a 12:39.

The winner of the men’s age 39 and under division was Trevor Sutermaster. Trevor completed 28 reps and ran his 5k time in 20:39, with a final time of 6:39. The winner of the men’s 40-49 age division was David Brown. David completed 30 reps and finished his 5k race in 22:49, with a final time of 7:49. Jim Patton finished first for the men’s 50-59 age division. Jim completed 30 reps and ran his 5k in 20:23, his final time was a 5:23.

This year’s Lifting Hopes Pump and Run was very competitive. We are looking forward to next year and how the competition will continue to increase. About this year’s event Mike Morgan said, “The Lifting Hopes Pump and Run just keeps getting better every year. We had a great group of participants this year, and everyone was excited to support the Chapel Hill House and Make a Wish Foundation. We are already starting to plan the 2012 event, and we look forward to even more great competition.”

We would like to thank all of our sponsor’s again for their support in this event. We wouldn’t have been able to make it a success without you. Thanks to Soar Fitness Systems, Rusty Bucket, Kroger, Doran’s Food Market, Exhibitpro, Sunny Street Café, The Andersons, Webbed Marketing, Whole Foods, and Shaw Printing and Promotion.

And most of all we would like to thank all of the participants who came out to this year’s pump and run. It was great to see so many people committed to helping make a difference in the lives of children in Central Ohio. With your help we were able to raise money needed to make children’s wishes come true.

Thank you again! And we look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.

Chapel Hill House

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Bill Balderaz

If you have spent any length of time on the Lifting Hopes website then you have probably seen Chapel Hill House mentioned. But do you know what the Chapel Hill House is? Or what it does? Or why part of the money raised from the Lifting Hopes Pump and Run is going to Chapel Hill House?

We want you to know.

Chapel Hill House is a getaway for children with pediatric cancer and their families. It is a place where families that have children with cancer can spend time together relaxing and away from all the stress in their day to day lives.

Chapel Hill House is a 150-year-old log cabin house that is on 72 acres of grasslands and forests. In the yard there is a playground for children to play in. There is a barn with a 19^th century style schoolroom. There are walking paves in the woods and a fire pit for families to sit around at night. It is the perfect place for children to have fun and for parents to relax.

Chapel Hill House started as a place for Larry and Annie Joseph to retire. Larry was looking for the perfect place and as all the planning was going into his new retirement home, Larry found out that he had stage four-colon cancer. Larry was upset, but really began to think about how upsetting it must be for children to have to deal with cancer. With this thought he switched the plans of a retirement home for him and his wife into a retreat home for children with cancer. Chapel Hill House was finished and welcomed their first family in June 2003. And Larry Joseph was able to see 25 families use Chapel Hill House before he passed away from cancer in 2005.

Lifting Hopes is excited to be able to donate 1/3 the money raised from the pump and run to Chapel Hill House. The mission that they have is a huge benefit to children and families and we are happy to help them to continue with what they do. You can donate to Chapel Hill House on their website (just follow this link http://www.chapelhillhouse.org/donate-now/) or by participating in the Lifting Hopes Pump and Run on October 2. We hope to see you there!

Meet Mike Wolfe

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Bill Balderaz

Mike Wolfe is a big guy, a really big guy. The professional powerlifter has a personal bench press record of more than 800 lbs. But lifts aren’t the only big thing about Mike. He also has a big heart, as demonstrated by his focus on helping kids. This year Mike will be helping out by doing a 500 lb plusexhibition lift at the Lifting Hopes Pump and Run. Mike will also be at the event to talk about weightlifting with anyone wanting to learn more and to encouraging all the lifters and runners.

Mike has been lifting for about 17 years now and is serious about the sport. In High School Mike started lifting in order to get into shape for football. When he met Minster Police Chief Randy Houseworth, Mike’s first lifting coach, Mike became serious about weightlifting and went from being a rookie to a State level lifter.

Throughout Mike’s weightlifting career he has accomplished a lot. The accomplishment that Mike is most proud of over the years was his 2^nd place finish at the 2007 Arnold Classic World Powerlifting Organization Bench Bash. About that event Mike said, “I bench pressed 860 pounds at that meet in front of thousands of people. It was such a rush to have that many people watching me. At first I was a little taken back from how many people were there but then I was like this is what I dreamed of and I gave it my all.”

Mike not only uses his weightlifting as a way to keep in shape or something to compete in, but also as a way to give back to others. Mike started his own charity meet in Celina, Ohio five years ago. The “Mike Wolfe’s Children’s Christmas Classic” is a bench press event in which all proceeds are donated to a local charity that buys children presents for Christmas if their families cannot afford to presents for them.

Along with his own charity Mike is excited to be helping out with the Lifting Hopes pump and run. Mike loves to help children in whatever way he can, and so he is excited about the Lifting Hopes pump and run and the opportunity to help raise money to encourage children with pediatric cancer.

Come out and meet Mike at the Lifting Hopes pump and run on October 2, 2011. Mike will have lots of advice on weightlifting at the event, but to end I will let you know some advice he gave me. “Seek out people who have been in the sport for a while. Pick the brains for as much info you can get. Be like a sponge and absorb as much of that knowledge as possible. Seek the knowledge of others either through gym memberships, internet, books, and magazines.”

Passion for Lifting Hopes

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Bill Balderaz

My name is Caitlin Edwards and I am interning with Lifting Hopes. I am excited to be in this position because my “job” deals with many things that I am passionate about.

First I get to help children who are in need by helping promote and prepare for the Lifting Hopes Pump and Run. I love children because of the joy that they always seem to have. It makes me sad to see children who are hurting and have lost their joy; therefore I am excited to bring children with cancer joy by helping to raise funds for Chapel Hill House and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Second I get to promote a run! That is very exciting to me because I have been running competitively since I was 13 years old. I ran both cross country and track in middle school and high school and now I am running cross country in college. I have run everything from the 300 hurdles in track to the Earth Day Marathon last April. So needless to say I have a passion about running, and I love seeing that passion in other people as well.

Third I am excited to be a part of Lifting Hopes because I get to use my Public Relations skills. I am a Public Relations major at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and it has been fun for me to use what I have been learning in the classroom for an actual event that could make a difference in someone’s life.

I am excited about what Lifting Hopes is doing and especially about the pump and run that is coming up in less then 2 months. It should be a good race, so if you haven’t registered do it now. And I will see you at the race on October 2^nd.

Caitlin Edwards