San Diego Oasis hosted its inaugural Team on a Trek fundraiser at Grossmont Center on July 28 from 4-7 p.m.
The nonprofit’s three-hour event invited teams of two to six individuals to participate in a series of fun challenges at various stations throughout Grossmont Center.
The surprise challenges area varied from “silly to savvy.”
Teams were encouraged to dress in creative costumes or matching clothing. All proceeds from Team on a Trek support San Diego Oasis’ mission to change the way people experience and think about aging.
“We’re very excited to bring together individuals of all ages for an afternoon of fun and fundraising in support of the San Diego Oasis mission,” said event chair and San Diego Oasis Board Member Tracey Stotz. “The challenge stations throughout Grossmont Center showcase some of the classes that San Diego Oasis offers. From challenges that may involve foreign language and poetry to dance and technology, Team on a Trek will have something everyone will enjoy.”
Stotz said this event took inspiration from “The Amazing Race” television show, scaled down to fit Grossmont Center to “raise friends and funds” for Oasis.
“I work with many people in my business in their 70s and 80s who are very isolated,” she said. “I got involved with Oasis because I saw it as a fabulous way to get people to connect later in life and get them out and engaged in meaningful ways. Be it through classes or tutoring with other people.”
This gets the word out about Oasis, said Stotz. Drawing attention to the programs that Oasis has through the Trek event.
“Each of the challenge stations represents an area of the catalog of what Oasis teaches in its classes,” she said. “We are keeping what the challenge stations are a surprise, but we have an area of wellness, and we teach classes from dancing, cardio drumming, to ballet. You might expect one of our challenges to be something like us teaching a segment of a line dance and the team will successfully learn the dance and show us.”
Stotz said each team had a passport for the entire team, and each time they complete a challenge at a station, their passport is stamped, and they can move on to the next challenge.
“It does not matter what order you do the challenges, or how many you complete because it is not timed event,” she said. “But by about 6:15 p.m., whatever you have done, you are done. You come back to where our live band is playing. We will have hot foods from Casa de Pico.”
Stotz said teams turned in their passports and receive multiple raffle tickets for the number of stations completed and stamped. There will be a station set up with raffle items, and tickets are put in for the items wanted and winners were drawn.
“We have tried to make the challenges so that if you are 15 or 75, you can complete the challenge,” she said. “They are not geared towards small children. And because the challenges are not timed, it does not matter if you are 85 and slow. If you have your wits about you can meet the challenge. With the live music (from Off The Hook Band), the challenge stations, the finger food, and the raffle, it is just going to be fun, raise awareness, and hopefully raise some money.”
