Pirate party shivers the timbers to help
October 17, 2021GoHawkeye pirates raise money to help Hailey Griffin buy a sit ski! Hailey won a GoHawkeye equipment grant last May in addition to our commitment to raise the remaining money needed to purchase a custom made Hydra Light sit ski by DynAccess, Ltd. She impressed us with the quality of her application and like some of our prior GoHawkeye applicants, we decided to sail the extra mile to make her dream come true. The fact that Hailey has a history of helping others impressed us even more!
The pirate costume fundraiser was held Thursday, August 19 in partnership with the Telluride Distilling Tasting Room in Mountain Village, Colorado. It featured a silent auction plus live music provided by two bands, Loot Booty and the Telluride Gold Kings who jammed the dance floor all night long. Grog flowed and wallets loosened as the good pirates raised $6,000 in our largest “fun”draiser party to date.
Hailey, 27, suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident several years ago. She had never considered herself an athlete but learned about the benefits of adaptive sports during her recovery. Now, she has developed a love for hand cycling and skiing and has the potential to compete at a high level and help bring awareness of these sports to others. In order to do this, she needed her own sit ski.
The Hydra Light is custom made for Hailey and is a performance piece of equipment as well as a work of art. The company, DynAccess Ltd., is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is well known and used by top performing sit skiers.
The GoHawkeye community loves to dress up like pirates and help motivated adaptive athletes like Hailey!
She wrote, “Wow, what a party! I haven’t had that much fun dressing up as a pirate in years. Everyone made me feel like a local celebrity and that’s saying a lot because Hawkeye IS a local celebrity. So many were cheering me on, telling me they hope to help me achieve my dreams! It reinforced my belief that I would try even harder to make them a reality. It’s great to have so many wonderful (and badass!) people who believe in me and are behind me 100%, why wouldn’t I go for the gold!”
She went on to add, “It was also quite heartwarming to immediately feel like part of the GoHawkeye family, they invited me in with warmth and plenty of jokes and smiles. So much so, I am moving to Telluride this winter to join them in shredding one of the greatest mountains there is! I grew up skiing here so this winter will be extra special- the first time skiing on my favorite mountain since the accident. I remember being that obnoxious friend in college, skiing in Virginia and complaining about the long lift lines and short icy slopes, I just wanted to be back in Telluride and here I am! Finally!”
“Thank you forever GoHawkeye, your help has led me to great things. And it feels like it was meant to be!”
Hailey Griffin
GoHawkeye is honored to help adaptive athletes like Hailey and grateful to have the support of readers like you. We are a small, all-volunteer group making a big impact in adaptive sports by selecting motivated athletes for our equipment and experience grants. Make a donation now to join the crew and help raise the flag when we set a course again to help another deserving athlete!
