Be The Boat - 2023 Ironman Fundraiser

Since 2016, Be The Boat has distributed nearly $350,000 in Hunter’s memory. • 2016 and 2017 – the Fund issued grants to support swim and sailing lessons for children who’d been removed from their homes due to abuse/neglect and placed at Hephzibah Home (Oak Park, IL) • 2018 – the Fund pivoted to provide direct mental health services, both through support for a social worker to identify needed mental/behavioral health services to children at/below the poverty line (identified during routine dental visits at The Children’s Clinic, Oak Park, IL) and pet/art therapy at Hephzibah. • 2020 – brought streamlined services to Hephzibah and The Children’s Clinic because of COVID • 2021 – came back with a roar by providing three grants: art therapy at Hephzibah, social worker at The Children’s’ Clinic and our newest partnership, underwriting an intensive after-school tutoring program through Harmony Community Cares, a community program of Harmony Church in the North Lawndale section of Chicago. • 2022 - Art therapy at Hephzibah and an intensive after-school tutoring program through Harmony Community Cares, a community program of Harmony Church in the North Lawndale section of Chicago The opportunity to change the trajectory of a child’s life with a well-timed intervention motivates our work. But how to fund these initiatives? Why Running? In the wake of Hunter’s death, running became a comfort and it only seemed natural to merge my love of running with a remembrance of my brother. For a peak into this process, please listen to a podcast interview by Outside Magazine about my running in support of Be The Boat (https://www.outsideonline.com/podcast/running-grief-be-boat/). 2024 Fundraiser: Lake Placid Ironman, July 23, 2023 Combined 141.4 miles broken up into three separate disciples: • 2.4-mile swim • 112.2-mile bike • 26.2-mile run While this race doesn’t elicit the ruggedness of a mountainous 100-miler through the Rockies, I don’t imagine it will be any easier than prior BTB events. I’ll be trading high altitude climbs for low altitude heat & humidity while also focusing on three separate sports that have each required many miles (in some case thousands) swam, biked & run prior to toeing the starting line. Please join me virtually on this event: • Supporters will be provided my bib number if you want to track me on race day (yep, plural)! History of the Be The Boat Fund: Started by my family in 2016, the Hunter Quigley Coe Be The Boat Fund was named in honor of my brother and echoes a reference shared at his funeral Mass. While Hunter was not a religious person, the poem captures a lot about his life: “And I saw the river over which every soul must pass to reach the kingdom of heaven and the name of that river was suffering; and I saw a boat which carries souls across the river and the name of that boat was love.” Despite experiencing suffering himself, Hunter served as “the boat of love” to many and it is that instinct – to help without reservation – that we wished to honor. Hunter loved children, was an incredibly empathetic soul, loved the water, teaching swim lessons and appreciated the educational opportunities provided to him. It seemed only fitting to celebrate Hunter’s caring nature with the launch, on what would have been his 25th birthday, of the Be The Boat Fund. For more info on Be The Boat, please visit www.betheboat.org. We’re in the midst of a website update and are hoping the timing aligns with this fundraising launch. If you don’t see loads of color when you visit the site, please check back soon! Thank you for your support – can’t tell you what it means mid-race. - Lawlor