Stephanie L./Staff
On Thursday, October 24, at 10:15 a.m., the Lazarus Courtyard came alive with cheers and racing shopping carts as the Service Board hosted its first-ever Ca Ditarod, which brought together students from across upper-school grade levels for a fun, service-themed competition aimed at raising excitement for the school’s annual “Kids 4 Kids” food and clothing drive.
Organized by Service Board president Miranda Bradner-Young, along with Dane Chaky, Mmesoma Nwoke, and Ms. Bening, they had a lot of support from the Service’s Shapers. “For organizing this, it was Ms. Bening, Dane, Mmesoma, and a group of Shapers who helped us. For the teams, we have one representative from each advisory from each grade, with three teams of four per grade,” said Miranda.
The event took months of planning. Miranda said, “We first started planning it over the summer with Dane and Ms. Bening, trying to figure out the course. It was hard to figure out how we would get each advisory represented and figure out the teams. Once we got our plan ready, we proposed it to Mrs. Izokaitis, Mr. Dow, and Dean Thompson. And once we got their approval, we brought it to the Shapers and started brainstorming ideas for the stations.”
Bening, the Service Board advisor, said the inspiration for the event came from an unexpected source. “There’s a race called the Iditarod, which is an Arctic dog race,” she said. “The people in Chicago modified it to use it as a food drive awareness event. I was watching Jeopardy! And one of the contestants said, ‘I participate in the Chiditarod,’ which raises awareness about food insecurity in Chicago. I looked it up while we were still watching Jeopardy! and was impressed. I shared the video with Miranda and Dane, and they said, ‘Let’s go!’.”
Bening praised the students’ effort and leadership: “They did 95% of the work, They built the race carts, had meetings with the Shapers to decide what kinds of games to include, and made it super fun and engaging.”
Participants said the event achieved its goal of building enthusiasm for the Kids 4 Kids drive. Sophomore Claire C. said, “The event was so fun and really brought up the hype for the food drive. I can’t wait to see how Service Board continues this in future years!”
With excitement traveling through the courtyard and shopping carts rolling across the pavement, Service Board’s Ditarod not only kicked off the Kids 4 Kids season but also showcased the creativity and collaboration that makes Academy’s service community thrive.
