Adventure vacations are the “in thing,” and the ELK Charity Challenge is adventure travel with a bonus – a seven-day, fun-filled, interactive on-road adventure, all for a great cause.
This annual auto rally isn’t just about serious vehicle enthusiasts from across North America coming together for a week of adventure, fun, and testing their abilities and determination. It’s also about helping children. During the ELK Charity Challenge, as teams compete against each other while navigating through diverse challenges, they also earn points they can use to donate funds to their chosen national children’s charity: Shriners Hospitals for Children, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, or Texas EquuSearch.
The ‘ELK’ in ELK Charity Challenge stands for ‘Everyone Loves Kids,’ and the Challenge organizers and participants certainly have a heartfelt desire and commitment to make a very real difference in the lives of our children.
Following the great success of last year’s inaugural ELK (Everyone Loves Kids) Charity Challenge in California, the Challenge returned this year in a new locale – this year’s event took place almost right across the country, beginning on May 21 in Detroit, Michigan and ending a week later in Lake Placid, New York.
It’s not only the Challenge that returned for another year – the Cycle Sisterz also returned for this year’s ELK Charity Challenge. Seasoned motorcyclists and travel buffs, sisters-in-law Vivian Kenderdine of Virden and Mona Kenderdine of Foxwarren, Manitoba and friend Linda Anderson of Grand Forks, North Dakota (also known as the Cycle Sisterz) were one of the first teams to register for the ELK Charity Challenge last year, and they (21 other teams of vehicle enthusiasts) were eager to step up to the challenge again this year.
Although the Charity Challenge didn’t officially begin until Saturday, returning and new teams and event sponsors had a chance to get together on Friday for a pre-event tour of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, and to take care of some important administrative tasks – like handing out decals and placing them strategically on rally vehicles.
Saturday’s ‘Green Flag’ marked the official beginning of the competition. Charity Challenge spokesperson, Matt Morak, describes the Challenge as “a cross between Trivial Pursuit and The Amazing Race,” and the daily missions certainly fit this description. Each morning of the event, the teams received a destination, along with a set of clues or instructions for solving that day’s challenge. The teams had to be prepared to navigate through almost any type of mission all while staying within the local speed limits and rules of the road, of course.
For these vehicle enthusiasts, some of the challenges were second nature, with their distinct ‘motorsports’ theme, like soapbox derby racing at the world-famous Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio; speed changing tires on a track car; and taking their vehicles out for a spin on the acclaimed Lake Erie Speedway in North East, PA.
Many of the daily missions required entirely different sets of skills, however! Other daily challenges found the teams performing synchronized swimming routines at the Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort in Erie, PA; scooping up an egg with a backhoe at Alfred State College; competing in a team “shoot out” at Herb Brooks Arena at Lake Placid Olympic Center; and participating in a game of knockerball. (If you’re not familiar with knockerball, it’s like soccer – but players are inside bubbles during the game and can bump into each other as much as they please!)
In keeping with what the ELK Charity Challenge is all about, the teams also visited the Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie, PA. Here, the Challenge participants donated gift cards and a truckload of toys for the kids in the hospital, and they met and spent time with Emily Melish. Emily, who was born with spina bifida and severe scoliosis, undergoes biannual surgeries to lengthen a rod in her back. Shriners Hospital has also helped to straighten and lengthen her left leg. Emily is an inspiration! She makes bead bracelets, which she sells online and then donates all the money she raises to Shriners Hospitals. To date, this amazing young lady has raised over $40,000.
The week wasn’t all work and no play for the participants. Once each day’s missions had been completed, the teams were free to explore the area and enjoy local activities and festivities. On Saturday afternoon, the teams visited the Automotive Hall of Fame and then strolled through the exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum (such as the famous Rosa Parks bus). Sunday found them touring the Reliable Carriers facility, and other activities during the week included visits to the Penn Brad Oil Museum, the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (which included some photo opportunities with Hall of Fame President, David Baker).
The teams also had the opportunity to tour the Olympic Museum at Lake Placid Olympic Center and meet Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey star, Buzz Schneider. While they were on the ice, Buzz ran out the Olympic Torch, which was passed to each Challenge participant and crew member.
After full days of challenges and other activities, evenings were spent enjoying the company of other Challenge participants and relaxing over an amazing meal and entertainment. From dinner and wine-tasting at a top-rated restaurant, a Gatsby-themed dinner at Edsel Ford’s Estate, and a beach bonfire and cookout at Allegany State Park, to a themed banquet at historic Akron Civic Theater and a black-tie evening with Ron Seggi and his band at the Warner Theatre, each evening’s activities were an enjoyable wind-down after an active day.
And, each evening, the winning team of that day’s challenge received a $10,000 cheque for the children’s charity they were representing. During this year’s weeklong event, the ELK Charity Challenge donated over $70,000 to children’s charities: three days’ donations went to Texas EquuSearch, two days’ donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and one day’s donations to Shriners Hospitals for Children. On the final day, the points led to a two-way tie between Texas EquuSearch and Shriners Hospitals.
The Cycle Sisterz once again were on the team for Shriners Hospitals for Children, a charity near and dear to them (Vivian’s husband is a Shriner, and Linda’s father and uncles were Shriners).
Each day’s donations were just one way that the teams “gave back” during the ELK Charity Challenge. At Alfred State College, for example, the teams’ daily challenges included baking and decorating cakes and assembling bicycles. Afterward, the College Automotive Department distributed the bikes to local kids in need, and the delicious cakes were donated to local seniors’ homes.
And, during the evening supper and block party in Ellicottville, New York, the rally cars were parked along a closed-off street for local residents to enjoy and have a closer look. The generous owner of a ’59 Cadillac convertible even invited the awestruck neighborhood kids to ‘hop in’ to get a real feel for the car.
The ELK Charity Challenge is all about the children – but this event is also a feast for vehicle-enthusiast eyes. From a 2016 Porsche 911 GTS Club Coupe to a DeLorean (the car made famous by the ‘Back to the Future’ movies) to a ’59 Cadillac convertible 62 series, there was something for everyone to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at during this auto rally.
From the event kickoff in “Motor City” to the wrap-up and tearful goodbyes in Lake Placid a week later, the ELK Charity Challenge was an amazing journey, filled with adventure, spectacular destinations, remarkable vehicles, and camaraderie with other travel-loving, big-hearted, vehicle aficionados – all while raising money for and awareness of three vital national children’s charities.
The Cycle Sisterz received the “Best Collaboration Award” during the Final Awards Ceremony. The Event organizers felt as the Sisterz were the only team of three women who had to spend all their time together and did not kill each other, they must be good at collaborating.
Traveling from rural Manitoba to Lake Placid and then home again, Vivian, Linda, and Mona had an experience they’ll never forget taking part in the ELK Charity Challenge.The Cycke
