Kristina Swenson never met Mitch Chepokas but the compassion of the young boy who died of bone cancer in 2003 has clearly inspired a similar sense of compassion and commitment in fifteen-year-old Kristina, her ten-year-old brother Kyle and hundreds of other kids who gather each summer to participate in the MiracleKids Triathlon, sponsored by the Miracles of Mitch Foundation.
The Chanhassen foundation was started by Mitch’s parents, Steve and Becky Chepokas, to honor their nine-year-old son who in the last year of his life, donated his own money to several families of young oncology patients facing financial hardship.
According to Betsy Grams, executive director for Miracles of Mitch, the boy realized that while his parents were able to spend time with him when he was hospitalized, other kids did not have as much time with their parents, who were forced to continue working to pay their mortgages and other monthly bills. During the Christmas season before Mitch died, he placed his own money in several envelopes and slipped them under the hospital room doors of fellow patients, intending for the money to help families meet their expenses.
“He told his dad how much pleasure he received from doing that and knowing he wouldn’t live until the next Christmas, made his father ‘pinky swear’ that his family would find a way to continue to help other families with a child battling cancer,” says Grams, adding that the Chepokas family launched the foundation several months after their son’s death.
Kristina, who just finished her freshman year at St. Michael-Albertville High School, was touched by the mission of the organization from a very young age: she has been participating in the MiracleKids Triathlon for the past eight years.
“I first found out about it when I was seven years old and taking swim lessons at Foss Swim School,” says Kristina, who lives with her family in Rogers. “I came home from swim lessons on a Wednesday and told my mom I just had to be part of this. The triathlon was on Saturday. I was just so inspired to know I could race in honor of someone who had cancer.”
Many children ages 7-17 participate in the annual swim, bike and run event on behalf of someone they know who has been affected by cancer. On the day of the triathlon, the young athletes write the name of one of Mitch’s “All-Stars” on their legs. Grams said that many “All-Stars” and their families attend the Miracle KidsTriathlon, health permitting, to cheer on the sidelines, and some even participate.
With the help of corporate sponsors including General Mills, Medica, Verizon, Foss Swim School and Cargill, over $350,000 was raised at the two MiracleKids Triathlons (one at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis and one at Lake Ann in Chanhassen) in 2011. This year, the organization will serve close to 400 families, referred by local social workers, by making monthly payments on their household bills. In addition, Miracles of Mitch and the Hilton MSP Airport Hotel sponsor 125 Mitch’s All-Star Weekends at the Mall of America and other activities for children with cancer and their families.
Kristina and Kyle Swenson have made it their personal goal to raise $10,000 for Miracles of Mitch this year and are once again taking their fundraising efforts to a level even past the triathlon; last year, they sponsored a concert and silent auction featuring items they collected from local businesses.
“They organized the auction entirely on their own. I would say about 80 percent of the businesses they approached donated items for the auction,” says Jamie Swenson, their mother. “Kristina and Kyle are very committed to this cause.”
For Jamie and her husband Greg (who has also started participating in adult triathlons at Kristina’s urging—she will join him in three contests this year), seeing the way their kids have embraced the goals of Miracles of Mitch has been extremely gratifying.
There is also a little bit of healthy competition between the siblings. Kyle, a student at St. John’s Lutheran School in Maple Grove, will be participating in his third MiracleKids Triathlon and hoping to beat his sister’s running time this year.
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To learn more about the Miracles of Mitch Foundation, visit miraclesofmitch.org; registration information for the upcoming MiracleKids Triathlons at Lake Nokomis Beach on August 4 and Lake Ann in Chanhassen on August 18 is available online at mkidstri.com.
