Beads of Courage is a a non profit charity based in Tucson, Arizona designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path. YogaSlacker riders Jason, Chelsey and David teamed up with team Beads of Courage to ride for kids with cancer in the Tour de Tucson. We rode 109 miles with a strand of beads tied to our bikes. One bead we keep for ourselves, and the other is for the child going through treatment. The bead is a sign of courage for the child, and will serve as an emotional booster shot for one of the many hard days they have to endure. When my strength started to dwindle after the first 60 miles, the strand of beads gave me the courage and strength to keep going strong. Knowing that the amount of pain we were experienceing didn't even compare to what they have to go through day in and day out. It's a very humbling experience when you put it in that perspective. The Beads of Courage Team mantra is "The energy that goes into the race gives energy to a child that is fighting for their life." It felt really good to dedicate our energy, sweat and passion to a child in need. In the future we hope to do more races for Beads of Courage, so hopefully we can have a strand of courage beads ourselves to help us through those extra tough times.--Chelsey
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