Pushing Limits.
Changing Lives.

Champions for a Cause

People who do amazing things start conversations. If someone in your office is running a marathon, everyone is talking about it. Everyone wants to know how they’re training, how they’re preparing, how they’re feeling. We love watching people undertake amazing journeys. It’s thrilling when they’re Olympic athletes. And it’s even more thrilling when they’re people we know.

Non-professional athletes who are pushing themselves to achieve incredible feats are starting conversations in their communities. And through KCF Champions, we’re harnessing the power of these conversations to get people talking about important causes while supporting the inspiring athletes in their lives.

What if every time someone asked you about preparing for your marathon and why you’re doing it, you could use that moment to discuss causes that don’t get talked about enough, like how we can fight preventable childhood illnesses? What if you could harness all the eyes on you and use your spotlights to change the world?

Learn about the causes our KCF Champions are dedicated to. Donate and offer encouragement. They have openly committed themselves to incredible challenges (and opportunities!). Help them succeed. Join their mission.

Meet our Champions

David “Poko” PokornyTrail Running AthleteChampioning: Girls on the Run St. Louis
Athlete Bio: Poko has dedicated his life to giving back to his community. He not only runs races all over the world to raise money for Girls on the Run St. Louis, but he also dedicates his time and energy to volunteering with them as well. For the last 10 years, Poko has worked to grow Girls on the Run St. Louis by serving in Board leadership to create fundraising events and recruit others to support the cause.
2022 Personal Summits
Bike from San Diego, CA to El Paso, TX
Mustang Trail Race (8 stages) – Nepal
14er Challenge – Leadville, CO
Inca Trail Marathon – Peru
Summit Chimborazo – Ecuador
Learn more & donate today
Karolina ZavisiuteUltramarathon AthleteChampioning: Children’s Home & Aid
Athlete Bio: Karolina pushes her limits every year by competing in ultramarathons across the U.S. to raise money and awareness for children in domestic violence environments. Last year, she finished 4th in the Bigfoot 200 race, which she ran in order to raise money for renovating a foster visitation room at Children Home & Aid. She also raised funds for Operation Food Search to provide backpacks filled with meals to children in need.
2022 Personal Summits
Berryman 50 mile Race – Missouri
Ouray 100 Mile Endurance Run – Colorado
Plain 100 mile race – Washington
Learn more & donate today
Ryan ScherffRunner Advocate, Father AthleteChampioning: Children’s Heart Foundation
Athlete Bio: Ryan is dedicated to helping children with congenital heart defects (CHD). His drive and motivation to run 1,000+ miles a year comes from his son, Jaxon, who was diagnosed with five heart abnormalities. Jaxon’s heart abnormalities are a lifelong condition that has no cure. He has had five surgeries since birth, two of which were open-heart surgeries. Ryan is proud to run for his son by partnering with Children’s Heart Foundation.
2022 Personal Summits
1,000+ miles in events all through the year.
Challenge in Motion My Best Year Challenge – ends 12/31/22
Fleet Feet St. Louis Snowball Series, Race 4: 5K – February
Fleet Feet St. Louis Snowball Series, Race 5: 4M – February
The Children’s Heart Foundation’s St. Louis Congenital Heart Walk: 1M – October
Learn more & donate today

Meet our Champions

David “Poko” Pokorny

Trail Running Athlete

Championing: Girls on the Run St. Louis

Athlete Bio: Poko has dedicated his life to giving back to his community. He not only runs races all over the world to raise money for Girls on the Run St. Louis, but he also dedicates his time and energy to volunteering with them as well. For the last 10 years, Poko has worked to grow Girls on the Run St. Louis by serving in Board leadership to create fundraising events and recruit others to support the cause.

2022 Personal Summits

Bike from San Diego, CA to El Paso, TX
Mustang Trail Race (8 stages) – Nepal
14er Challenge – Leadville, CO
Inca Trail Marathon – Peru
Summit Chimborazo – Ecuador

Learn more & donate today

Karolina Zavisiute

Ultramarathon Athlete

Championing: Children’s Home & Aid

Athlete Bio: Karolina pushes her limits every year by competing in ultramarathons across the U.S. to raise money and awareness for children in domestic violence environments. Last year, she finished 4th in the Bigfoot 200 race, which she ran in order to raise money for renovating a foster visitation room at Children Home & Aid. She also raised funds for Operation Food Search to provide backpacks filled with meals to children in need.

2022 Personal Summits

Berryman 50 mile Race – Missouri
Ouray 100 Mile Endurance Run – Colorado
Plain 100 mile race – Washington

Learn more & donate today

Ryan Scherff

Runner Advocate, Father Athlete

Championing: Children’s Heart Foundation

Athlete Bio: Ryan is dedicated to helping children with congenital heart defects (CHD). His drive and motivation to run 1,000+ miles a year comes from his son, Jaxon, who was diagnosed with five heart abnormalities. Jaxon’s heart abnormalities are a lifelong condition that has no cure. He has had five surgeries since birth, two of which were open-heart surgeries. Ryan is proud to run for his son by partnering with Children’s Heart Foundation.

2022 Personal Summits

1,000+ miles in events all through the year.
Challenge in Motion My Best Year Challenge – ends 12/31/22
Fleet Feet St. Louis Snowball Series, Race 4: 5K – February
Fleet Feet St. Louis Snowball Series, Race 5: 4M – February
The Children’s Heart Foundation’s St. Louis Congenital Heart Walk: 1M – October

Learn more & donate today

Our athletes are dedicated champions for a cause. They dream big, improving the lives of people they love and challenging the limits of what their body can achieve.

Keith Austin, Executive Director

How it works

1Apply TodayClick the Apply Now button below to submit your KCF Champion application. We would like to hear more about who your charitable partner would be and why, biggest athletic accomplishments, and your charity & athletic goals.
2Pick Your Beneficiary100% of your fundraising goes towards your chosen beneficiary. Choose from our existing partners or nominate your own organization supporting children or veteran causes.
3Push Your Limits & Change LivesCompete in events all year long to fundraise for your cause. You will have your own custom fundraising page to track progress towards your annual goal and interact with donors.*

Benefits Include

100% of donations go to your chosen charity
Social promotion by Keep Climbing Foundation
KCF branded t-shirt for events
Free entry into one KCF event
Personalized fundraising website on our donation platform
A community of other similar-minded champions
A chance to make a big difference while doing what you love most

*KCF Champions are responsible for registering and paying entry fees for their individual events. Social media promotion by KCF is expected for participant’s content, but not guaranteed. KCF Champion athletes will be expected to make social posts leading up to events, during events, and after events.

Each KCF Champion will be expected to adhere to KCF’s Social Media Guide and the KCF Champion Agreement before representing Keep Climbing Foundation. This includes standards of conduct and a waiver of liability.

Free entry to a KCF event is subject to a dollar limit and is limited to domestic events only. When joining a KCF event, all funds raised will be designated to the KCF event charitable partner.

KCF expects all KCF Champions to fundraise year long for their charitable partner to reach their annual fundraising goal. The fundraising campaign and each athlete’s KCF Champion term is expected to end December 31 of each calendar year; however, anyone can apply again for the next calendar year.

Our Charitable Partners

Champions can partner up with one of our existing partners or nominate your own organization supporting children’s or veterans’ causes.

First Descents

First Descents provides life-changing outdoor adventures for young adults (ages 18 – 39) impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions.

VISIT SITE

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.

VISIT SITE

Team Alec Forever

Team Alec Forever’s mission is to financially help childhood cancer families with end of life expenses, who are treated in the St. Louis area. No one should ever have to go through this. Our greatest wish is for this to never again be needed. Our prayer will ALWAYS be for a world without childhood cancer. We continue to fight for that to become reality. Until then, we will fund raise to financially support families going through this horrible disease. Surviving the loss of a child is hard enough. Help us, help these families in memory of Alec Ingram.

VISIT SITE

Fisher House Foundation

An organization that has served over 400,000 families since its inception, Fisher House is focused on supporting military and veteran families in a variety of ways, including providing comfort homes where military & veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital.

Visit Site

Crowns Fight Cancer

The Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation works jointly on the legacy that Elizabeth established with Crowns Fight Cancer. As a childhood cancer warrior, Elizabeth advocated for those that couldn’t by utilizing her crown to change how the world viewed pediatric cancer.

Visit Site

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) believes when families are together, they cope better, and that no family should have to deal with their child’s medical crisis alone. The mission of RMHC is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families.

Visit Site

Isaac Bruce Foundation

Reaches out to youth and teaches them at an early age the importance of a healthy lifestyle with a focus on education.

Visit Site

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation

Focused not just on the health of kids today but on the long-term health of the communities it serves.

Visit Site

Friends of Kids with Cancer

Friends of Kids with Cancer is devoted to enriching the daily lives of children undergoing treatment for, and survivors of, cancer and blood-related diseases.

visit site

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

VISIT SITE

Children’s Heart Foundation

The Children’s Heart Foundation was founded in 1996 and is the country’s leading organization solely dedicated to funding congenital heart defect (CHD) research. Their mission is to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of congenital heart defects by funding the most promising research. To date, through 2020, The Children’s Heart Foundation has funded $15 million of CHD research and scientific collaborations.

VISIT SITE

Are you a Champion?

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Pushing Limits. Changing Lives.

Champions for a Cause