The Mary Bridge Children’s Courage Ride held in Washington state has supported child abuse prevention and treatment programs for several decades. The weekend event, hosted by MultiCare’s Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, draws crowds of cyclists and supporters yearly to Leavenworth, Washington. In 2022, SimpliFi sponsored the event, rallying internal employees and traveling healthcare professionals to get behind the cause.
SimpliFi leaders and team members joined together with MultiCare executives to form racing teams and volunteer at rest stops. While each participant traveled and gave up their weekend for the event, what they gained from going was incredible.
“It’s just a whole different atmosphere when you get there, participate, and connect what it is for,” said Brooke R., one of SimpliFi’s client relationship managers.
SimpliFi’s client relationship team, led by Vice President of Client Strategy Catharine Schultz, volunteered at rest stops each race day. They handed out snacks and water and cheered on cyclists, representing multiple age groups, through every twist and turn of the races. The volunteers were happy to meet with the cyclists, hear their stories and motivations, and watch them hustle to the finish line on races ranging from 18 to 53 miles in length.
“I know how important support is when you are doing activities like this,” said Client Relationship Manager Holly S. “To me, being able to give back, support race participants, and seeing how appreciative they were – that was touching.”
Even more emotionally moving was understanding whom the Courage Ride and the Mary Bridge Children’s Child Abuse Intervention Department were helping. At a dinner the night before the first race, community leaders gave insight into how vital these events and programs are for youth in the area.
“What hit me was the county prosecutor talking about how important it was to create a comfortable environment for these youth so they can share their story in a safe place,” said Diana, Client Relationship Manager with SimpliFi. “Through these programs, prosecutors have been able to put these children’s stories on camera for the courtroom. Because of this, their conviction rates have improved, and they’ve gotten justice for these children.”
The whole team was honored to play a small role in benefitting the community and supporting a client’s cause, a testament to SimpliFi’s desire to be a true partner to its health systems.
“We wanted to do this as a team,” Catharine said. “It was awesome to be able to get together and do that for our client.”
“I was raised to give back, and to be able to give back to the underprivileged through this company – that’s heartwarming to me,” Diana said.
Holly agreed: “It felt good as a partner to the health system that SimpliFi wanted to be part of and support this event.”
“I can’t wait to do it again!” Brooke added. “I hope we get to do it yearly and that the event doubles in participation each time.”
Because of the Courage Ride’s participants, sponsors, and donors, more than $320,000 was raised for child abuse prevention and treatment programs at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. And there is still time to give – fundraising continues until October 31. If you’d like to donate, visit the Courage Ride’s website for more details.