Saturday, September 19th is the annual TGS Shuffle. On a beautiful fall morning in Colorado, at Purple Park in Superior, a hundred odd people (and a handful of dogs) will gather together and walk, run, or roll a distance of approximately three miles. Some see this as a fundraising event. I see it as a support event – an opportunity for our community to gather and celebrate our students.

Just by showing up, we communicate to students that they matter. Our decision to give up a Saturday morning will interrupt our weekend routine, and cause errands and chores and activities to be rescheduled, or perhaps even abandoned. But our students are worth it.

This year, instead of asking my personal community for donations to support MY efforts, I’ve asked them to support our students. The response has been…well…supportive. Several who have never been involved with TGS before have offered to contribute. One friend divided his donation into smaller increments to support 10 different students. Another replied, “Give [my donation] to the kid with the most trouble getting support.”

Support can take many forms. Support is listening. Support is laughing. Some days, support can just mean tolerating a student’s challenging moments and responding with patience. Support changes people. Without support, our students flounder. With sufficient support, they can soar. TGS exists to provide a supportive community for these students and their families. We hope you can step into action and support our efforts this Saturday, September 19th.