Maple Grove Teen Starts CrossOver to Help Children Afford Sports
At least 900 runners will participate in the 11th annual Maple Grove half marathon, 10 k and 5k races on Saturday, May 12. Part of the proceeds this year will go toward helping out CrossOver, an intiative aimed at helping disadvantaged children afford to participate in sports and other activities.
“We just decided with in the last couple of years, we wanted to direct our funds to an individual or an organization,” said Maple Grove Lions Club member Jim Miller.
How CrossOver Started
This year the group is making a sizable donation to Maple Grove resident Ellie Hoyt. She founded CrossOver, a scholarship program administered by the CROSS food shelf in Rogers.
“I just wanted to help those kids create a better life for themselves through something they love doing,” explained Hoyt.
Hoyt played volleyball and softball and she wanted other kids to be able to join in on the fun, even if their pocketbooks wouldn’t allow them to participate. The program launched last fall and, so far, one child has participated.
“He wanted to play basketball for Osseo-Maple Grove so we got him the funds to be able to do that,” she said.
The generous teen set a goal of helping 25 children in the first year. But Hoyt would like to help as many children as she can, and with the donation from the Maple Grove Lions, she’s well on her way.
“It makes me feel so overjoyed to know I have so much support from our community, there’s so many people I want to help,” said Hoyt.
The Maple Grove Lions will unveil the check amount on Saturday, right before the race.
You can still sign up online, or Friday during packet pickup at Twin Cities Running Company in Maple Grove. For more information, log onto: http://maplegrovehalfmarathon.com/index.html
