[COMMUNICATED] The SCHI Challenge: Challenge Yourself for the Challenged Children. Challenge Yourself. What does that entail?

For a special needs child, that might mean an existence where every breath is about extending himself beyond that which he was yesterday, beyond which he thought possible. It might mean reaching within himself to discover abilities he never thought he had and using them to soar to places he never dreamt he’d reach.

For one teacher, it has meant broadening his vision to encompass the overarching needs of his students, extending himself beyond his job description to help build their worlds.

And for a community of compassionate givers, it will mean going beyond your comfort zone and exerting yourself just a bit more than you normally would, reaping immeasurable rewards as a result.

It means the SCHI Challenge. Challenging yourself for the challenged children.

The Brainstorm

The SCHI Challenge was inaugurated two years ago by SCHI teacher R’ Mordechai Friedlander.

“This is the nature of SCHI,” says R’ Meyer Brull, Director of Special Projects at SCHI. “Every staff member is so totally invested in the kids, that they will always seek to do more. R’ Friedlander saw a need and he jumped on it, spearheading the whole campaign.”

Last year, over 85 cyclists joined the ride. The SCHI Challenge 2016 was once again a fun-filled incredible experience for each of them, so they’re inviting and encouraging their fellow cyclists to join them for the The SCHI Challenge 2017.

The Very Special Camp

The School for Children with Hidden Intelligence needs no elaboration on these pages; their work is legendary. Perhaps a bit less well-known, though equally noble, is Camp SCHI, a special needs camp founded fourteen years ago.

“Camp provides kids with the opportunity to be free and to continue the growth and progress they’ve made throughout the school year,” says R’ Brull. “They often accomplish as much, if not more, in camp in terms of their development that they do during the actual school year.”

The camp is run on the same foundation of totality of care for every child that has made SCHI so very successful in helping its students achieve their very best. Camp SCHI allows these children to enjoy an incredibly fun-filled summer surrounded by staff members who cherish them, give them a great time, and help them meet their milestones, one challenging step at a time.

Not only can children be children at Camp SCHI, the camp enables parents to be parents as well.

“The camp is an incredible opportunity for respite,” says R’ Mordechai Friedlander, teacher at SCHI and the heart and soul of the SCHI Challenge. “Parents are free to focus on their other children when all throughout the year so much of their attention and energy is focused on their special needs child. And they can do so with the comfort and reassurance of knowing that their special child is in the best hands.”

The Goal

The goal of this year’s SCHI Challenge is to raise funds for the Camp SCHI, thereby allowing the children of Camp SCHI to thrive in an environment created specifically for them. Every rider who takes to the roads on July 6th carries with him the weight of his sponsors, as together they make this dream a reality. With some digging deep into their pockets and some digging deep into their physical stamina, the special children will enjoy a great summer.

The Ride

The SCHI Challenge is a one-day, fully supported 120 mile bike ride, taking place on July 6.  Riders raise a minimum of $1800 in sponsorships, and enjoy all the perks of the ride, including water bottles, jerseys and meals.

It will kick off early in the morning on July 6th, 2017 at the SCHI campus with davening and a hearty, biker-friendly breakfast.

With a heartfelt and elaborate send off, the riders will begin their challenge, enjoying the full support of a SAG team, medics and mechanics, as well as multiple rest stops along the way. A satisfying lunch will be served at a predesignated stop along the way. Miles and miles of uninterrupted beauty define the scenic route to Camp SCHI.

And while experienced bikers will not hesitate to take on the full ride, no one should feel excluded because they don’t feel they have what it takes to complete so long a bike ride. There is plenty of room for amateurs to do a partial ride and then get driven the rest of the way to camp.

“The SCHI Challenge is just that, a challenge,” says R’ Brull. “The point is for each person to challenge himself to do as much as he possibly can, and then just a little bit more. If you think you can do forty miles, try for fifty. If you think you can aim for 100, push yourself a little bit more to ride to the end. At whatever point you choose to stop, we will be there for you.”

Every screaming, aching muscle, every drop of sticky sweat will be well worth it once riders reach the finish line. The riders will meet at a staging area near camp and all ride in together as a group. There is nothing in the world that can compare to the greeting that they will receive from the recipients of their generosity, from the challenged children themselves. Amid singing, dancing and a hearty barbeque, riders will be given the hero’s welcome they so rightfully deserve. Seeing firsthand how touched the children are, as evidenced by the shining faces welcoming them, seeing firsthand a glimpse of the efforts needed to give these children a chance at the very best life possible is an experience that will stay with every rider during the bus ride back to Lakewood and for a very long time afterward.

The Ultimate Chizuk

The SCHI Challenge is one that will prove fun and exciting for bikers, in addition to giving them the opportunity to challenge themselves physically and test the limits of their endurance. Riders have spoken of the personal benefits that they receive when they participate in such a ride. But of course, they are not doing it with these benefits in mind, but rather for a cause far greater than themselves.

It’s all for the children.

“You can’t begin to imagine the amount of chizuk the children get as they watch the bikers sailing into camp, knowing that these men just completed a grueling ride just for their sakes,” says R’ Brull. “They can’t believe that someone would do something like that for them and their gratitude is boundless.”

And it extends further than that.

When the parents of special needs children, the silent heroes among us whose lives revolve around their family to an extent no parent who hasn’t been in their shoes can fathom possible, see a community rallying around them, rallying around their children, the chizuk they feel is unparalleled. Every burden is easier to bear when you know that it is shared, and this case is no exception. Signing on for the SCHI Challenge shows these parents that you care enough about them and their family to extend yourself in such a manner for their children, children you may never have met. Their shoulders feel lighter, their smiles grow brighter and they face their own challenges with renewed vigor. They know that they are not alone.

“We are a community of givers,” says R’ Friedlander. “The amount of chesed and tzedakah that flows through this town is unheard of. What wouldn’t we do for someone else?  This is an incredible way of alleviating the burden for parents of special needs children, in a fun and involved way.”

As any avid biker will tell you, there are few feelings more satisfying than the wind whipping at your back as your wheels swallow miles in the roadway zipping beneath your feet. But that satisfaction, that momentum and that sheer exhilaration is magnified a thousandfold when you picture the children at the other end of the ride, hugs at the ready, facing beaming and very special hearts bursting with love and joy, so eagerly awaiting your arrival.

Do it for the parents. Do it for the children. Do it for yourself!