Fundraiser will be Sept. 18

By Don Rush

Following the motto of “Trust, Love, Build,” putting others first and embracing the team concept the 42 Strong – the Tate Myre Foundation gaining ground and making a positive difference in the lives of over 200 students in the community.

A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, 42 Strong matches mentors, who are 10^th through 12^th grade students at Oxford High School, with “mentees”, 6^th through 9^th grade students. Mentees and mentors are paired together partially on the mentees’ preference and based on responses to application questions.

The group was started by the family of slain OHS student Tate Myre who lost his life Nov. 30, 2021 along with classmates Hana St. Juliana, Justin Schilling and Madisyn Baldwin. According to the 42 Strong website www.42Strong.org, “Our mission is to create a better future by helping students develop a greater sense of purpose, community and resilience . . . Growing up can be tough. Having a friend that you trust can make it a lot easier. Friendships matter. Love matters. Building a sense of community matters. Being part of something bigger than yourself matters. Tate embodied these traits. He sought mentors to help with his personal growth. He then took time to help others and encourage everyone to be their best.”

According to group Team Leader Joel McCormick, there are 250 participants (Mentors and Mentees), 16 adult Team Leaders who support the Mentors and Mentees and a board of directors made of seven people.

On Sept. 18, one of the group’s Team Leaders, Jaclyn Eldridge, will end a one-day, 42-mile run at the Legacy Center, “We are working on having any of the 42 Strong kids that would like to run the last mile or so to do so,” McCormick said.

In a promotional flier for the fundraising run, Eldridge said, “ We all have bucket lists in life, some little things and some big things that at some point we would like to accomplish. This year running was on my bucket list. I checked off qualifying for the Boston Marathon back in June and I’m going to top off a personal goal to run 42 miles by the time I turn 40, in just a few weeks. After being asked several months ago to be a part of the 42 Strong Peer Mentorship program as a Mentor Team Leader, I decided I wanted this run to be bigger than just me. I want to use my abilities to give back to our 42 Strong Peer Mentorship Program. I will complete the 42 miles for Tate, and for all of our mentors and mentees who have committed to building friendships, relationships, and community through this life changing peer to peer mentorship program.”

According to the flier, “100 percent of the donated money will go directly to the Mentor and Mentee Activity Fund.” To donate to the fundraiser, use your cellphone’s camera to connect with the QR code in this story.