It’s been a good year for the Flathead Attention Home. First the emergency youth shelter moved into a spacious new house in Kalispell in May. Now it’s gearing up for what is expected to be the biggest turnout ever for its primary annual fundraiser: the Glacier Challenge.
The Glacier Challenge is a multi-event endurance race that will cover more than 50 miles this year. Participants run, kayak, canoe, road bike and mountain bike for prizes. The entry fees – $50 for an individual, $100 for couples and $210 for teams of three to seven people – help the youth home cover its operating expenses.
This year’s race will begin at 7:30 a.m. on July 11 at Riverside Park in Whitefish. Hannah Plumb, race director, said last week she was expecting up to 60 or more teams, the most in the event’s seven-year history. Last year there were 43.
The Flathead Attention Home (FAH) is an emergency shelter for kids in crisis. This includes runaways, children with problems at home, youngsters with chemical dependency problems and others. The shelter provides short-term housing for up to eight kids at a time, between the ages of 10-18. It’s open year-round, 24 hours per day. There are similar shelters in other Montana cities, all part of a Missoula-based group called Youth Homes.
In May, the FAH moved into a new location on Eighth Avenue East North and Oregon Street in Kalispell. Before, it was situated in a house east of town, where it had been forced to relocate to from its previous home. In an effort to seek a more stabilized setting, and one in the middle of town, shelter officials set out to purchase their own facility.
With the help of a $450,000 federal grant, they built the house on Oregon Street, specifically designing it to the kids’ needs. The house is 5,600 square feet and has 10 bedrooms, along with a large living area, a backyard and a nice kitchen. Even with the federal grant and generous private donations, the FAH is still raising money in an effort to eliminate mortgage payments. The Glacier Challenge helps with that.
Seven years ago, Jenae Schmautz, Plumb’s predecessor, and her husband Will came up with the idea of the race as a unique fundraiser that could draw attention in a valley already saturated with nonprofit fundraising efforts. Since then, the race has been growing each year.
This year, contestants – individuals, couples and teams – will run 11 kilometers; kayak 2.5 miles; ride a road bicycle 13 miles; mountain bike 9.76 miles; canoe a little over five miles and then finish the race with a 6.34-kilometer run. It begins and ends at Riverside Park.
As part of its continual evolution, the race has added new features over the years to make the atmosphere not only more enjoyable for the participants, but for spectators as well. In fact, it’s become somewhat of a party.
At this year’s event, Qdoba will be providing food and John Floridis will play live music. While food and music have become staples at the event, this year also has a new highlight: a running slide show of the race. Plumb has brought on photographer Scott Marksbury to take photos during the race and post periodic slide shows on a screen powered by a Nomad Technologies command center.
“It’s a fun way to kind of shake it up a little bit,” Plumb said.
Plumb is hoping to emphasize the kids more this year. While many racers and spectators understand what the FAH is, she said she would like to make the connection between the race and the shelter’s purpose more clear. She is thinking of adding photos of the kids in the slide shows.
“It’s been an amazing year for us,” Plumb said. “The move was certainly the biggest move in our history in the valley and, now, this.”