What a cool team to be a part of!

It’s a rare thing to find camp magic outside of camp gates, but AngelRide provided a 135 mile trail of safety, respect, and love. Everyone supported each other, shared stories, cheered each other on, and contributed to this incredible atmosphere of positivity as we cycled to raise funds to bring the camp experience to kids in the hospital.

Six years ago a good friend and long-time AngelRider, Mike Urbanowski, convinced me to try riding across Connecticut on my beat up old yellow road bike.

lauren-schlather.jpgWe had met a couple years earlier during the LIT program at Hole in the Wall. He kept saying that AngelRide was a fantastic event and man, was he right. It’s a rare thing to find camp magic outside of camp gates, but AngelRide provided a 135 mile trail of safety, respect, and love. Everyone supported each other, shared stories, cheered each other on, and contributed to this incredible atmosphere of positivity as we cycled to raise funds to bring the camp experience to kids in the hospital.

Camp magic is a beautiful phenomenon, and anyone who has spent time at any of the SeriousFun camps or working with the Hospital Outreach® Program will be able to tell you a story about how camp magic changed a life. As a former camper, camp magic brought me out of my quiet shell and helped me build self-confidence. As a volunteer and staff member, I was able to see kids fly down the zip line without a care in the world, swim in a pool for the first time without worry, meet other kids who faced similar challenges, and form unbreakable bonds. For a kid with a serious illness, these experiences are priceless and they make a huge difference in how they see themselves and interact with the real world when camp is over.

Every single person who participates, rides, volunteers, donates, supports, or cheers in this event is an integral component of something that becomes much more than the sum of its parts. It takes a team to make sure every rider gets to the finish safe and sound. And it takes a team to bring so much magic to these kids, who deserve every bit of it. What a cool team to be a part of!

– Lauren Schlather