On Friday, May 3, the Seekers Club held its annual charity event. This year’s event was Relay for Beekman, an obstacle relay race held to raise money for A House on Beekman, a local organization dedicated to supporting children and families in the South Bronx by providing them with long-term care and services.
“We make our charity event new every year in order to keep it fresh and original,” stated senior and vice president Christopher Thomas. “Last year, we made cards and raised money through selling them, and the year before that we had a bracelet making contest, etc. Each board member helps in coming up with the event, and this year we were interested in doing an obstacle course.”
Admission for the event was $5.00 per person; alternatively, participants could ask sponsors to make donations for A House on Beekman. “Under the guidance of Ms. Fee, we learned that we could raise more money by directly asking students for donations instead of selling products like greeting cards or bracelets like we did in previous years,” stated Lucy Yang, a senior and co-president of Seekers. “Donations in the form of admission fees and sponsorships worked for this purpose. We wanted to host a unique event for the school that was low-cost for Seekers but could raise the most money for the charity, and we decided that Relay for Beekman was the perfect balance.”
Freshman Johan Rengifo, one of the participants of the event, remarked, “I occasionally come to Seekers, so when I heard about the event, I wanted to go support my friends. I had a good experience, the games they had were fun and it was for a good cause.” Senior Kaitlyn Wu agreed, saying, “It was very well organized and a lot of fun.”
Relay participants competed in teams of four to earn as many points as possible. Among the activities that the teams engaged in were Bird Box, where a blindfolded player was guided by his/her teammates through a path of hula hoops, and Pop Up, where team members had to keep a balloon in the air using their arms, leg, or head while maintaining a square formation. Additional points were given if team members wore Seekers apparel.
The winning team consisted of seniors Barry Hui, TJ Patel, Akash Persaud, and Paul Rambharose. They were awarded a $50.00 Buffalo Wild Wings gift card. The second and third place winners received donuts and munchkins. Akash commented, “I had a really great time with my friends. It was also great to know that my entrance fee went to a charity.”
The Relay for Beekman event successfully raised over $300.00 for charity. “It is humbling that we were able to raise so much money for such an amazing cause,” said Christopher. Lucy reflected, “I really enjoyed hosting the event, and it was nice to change things up by planning a more active event since Townsend doesn’t have too many events like Relay for Beekman.”
“On behalf of all of Seekers and the leaders, I’m especially thankful for everyone who supported us in planning Relay for Beekman—Ms. Fee and the custodians—everyone who donated money, and the five teams who competed,” she added. “We couldn’t have raised all of the proceeds without you all.”
