C’mon, admit it. Every time you walk by a puddle, the inner child in you really, really wants to jump in it.
Well, Child Development Resources wants you to jump in puddles. Mud puddles, to be exact. And they’re hoping you’ll consider raising a little money for them and posting your puddle jumping for all to see.
It’s part of the Mud Puddle Challenge, a virtual fundraiser that kicked off June 1st and goes through Sept. 7th. This year, the challenge is taking the place of CDR’s long-running summer fundraiser, the SuperHero 5K. Although some fundraising races are being done virtually in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, CDR organizers were worried that their 5K — which is intended to be a community event as much as a race — wouldn’t translate as well that way.
Puddle jumping is a way to keep a fun, community flair to the fundraiser, says Nancy Wigley, CDR’s special events coordinator.
“We thought about what we can do that people can do at home, and still have fun and still support families,” she says.
Helping Children and Their Families
CDR, based in Williamsburg, Va., is a community organization dedicated to helping the community’s youngest and most vulnerable members through early intervention. The center offers services targeted to children and families who face all kinds of challenges, including developmental delays, disabilities, homelessness and just not having the resources other families do. It also provides services and training to expectant parents, teen parents, fathers, child-care providers and other early childhood professionals.
This year was to have been the 13th year of the SuperHero 5K, which annually draws hundreds of participants to dress as superheroes to run or walk to support CDR. Last year’s event also featured a family challenge obstacle course, and raised $50,000 for the organization.
Like a race, the Mud Puddle Challenge still asks participants to register (just $10 a person) and form teams, if they desire. Then the rules change. Once a team or individual reaches their fundraising goal, they’re asked to jump in a mud puddle and video it to share on CDR’s website and on social media.
“We want [participants] to be creative and have fun with it,” Wigley says. “Either find a mud puddle or create their own puddle. We’ve had both.”
So far, 15 individuals and seven teams have signed up for the Challenge, which has a goal of raising $26,000. The presenting sponsors are the Marmons, a former Williamsburg family that used CDR services. Already, four videos have been posted on the Challenge’s event site, including one of Leigh Houghland, chairman of the CDR board, hurling himself down a homemade slip-and-slide and face first into a mud puddle while wearing a suit.
“We’re encouraging pets to be a part of it, too,” Wigley says. “We know dogs like to jump in mud puddles.”
How To Sign Up
To sign up, visit runsignup.com/Race/VA/Williamsburg/MudPuddle, gather your team (it can be just your family and/or pets, or yourself) and set a fundraising goal. Once you reach your goal, film yourself or your team jumping in a mud puddle and share it on social media with the hashtag #cdrmudpuddlechallenge. Make sure you tag CDR on your post. When you share your video, be sure to challenge someone else.
The plan is to keep the challenge going through the end of the summer, until Sept. 7th. At the end of the challenge, prizes will be given out to the highest fundraisers and most creative videos.
“The idea is for people to hit their goal, film a video and challenge someone else,” Wigley says. “We’ve had people hitting their goals already. We want to keep people excited and coming back to the website to see what’s happening.”
For those who would rather not get muddy, donations are always welcome.