Dartmouth students may remember Christopher Winterbottom '02 from the incident in which he ran across the field at a Montreal Expos baseball game wearing only a "man-thong," but this Monday he will be running in the Boston Marathon to raise money for a good cause.
The Horizon Initiative -- the Boston charity Winterbottom works for -- hopes to raise $150,000 this Monday for its work with Boston's homeless population. Winterbottom pledged to raise at least $2,500 individually. He has already exceeded his pledge -- with donations now approaching $6,000-- but hopes to raise as much as $10,000.
Winterbottom still lacks the number of sponsors he originally wanted, and has put out a call to the community to support a cause that he described as "dear to my heart." He said he would accept checks and asked those willing to donate to follow instructions for donation at the Horizon Initiative's website.
Since moving to Boston in September, Winterbottom has worked for Horizon Initiative, a non-profit organization in Boston that provides a variety of services to homeless children.
The Horizon Initiative places volunteers like Winterbottom in 30 shelters throughout the city in which they provide a structured environment "where kids can just be kids," he said.
Winterbottom is stationed in Casa Nueva Vida, a Latino shelter, where he applies the Spanish- speaking skills he acquired on his sophomore year Language Study Abroad program while playing chess with older children, helping others with homework and reading to younger ones.
"You basically provide them with some structured activity as much as you can," he said, so that the children do not get themselves into trouble on unsupervised streets.
These children are often caught in a cycle of poverty. All have single mothers who cannot afford daycare, without which they cannot find a job to support their families, Winterbottom explained.
As a volunteer, Winterbottom's goal is to provide the children with as safe an environment as possible and to give their mothers the opportunity to find employment.
Winterbottom -- who did not need to meet the race's requirement that he finish prior marathons in a prescribed time because he is running for charity -- has been training to run the 26.2 miles since December, a process that has been "really hard" for him.
"I'm not terribly athletic," he explained, having only run distances of 21 miles in the past, a requirement for his high school soccer and baseball teams.
To help him prepare, Winterbottom told all of his friends and family members that he would compete in this Monday's marathon. They have supported him and encouraged him to practice even after returning from long days of work when he just wanted to relax, he said.
The training has been paying off, Winterbottom said. He explained that his endurance has greatly improved and that he can understand the feeling of enjoyment dedicated runners experience.
Winterbottom has decided not to wear his "man-thong" in Monday's race, he said, explaining that the cause was too important for such an action.
