Fox Valley Marathon Founders Recognized by TriCity Family Services

TriCity Family Services recognized the two founders of the Fox Valley Marathon for their charitable contributions to the community at a recent Board Meeting. 

Dave Sheble and Craig Bixler founded the Fox Valley Marathon in 2010, bringing a unique marathon experience to the Kane County community and hosting 2,000 participants in just their second year this past September.  Sheble and Bixler chose to make local charities a priority in the race by allying with Charity Partners in the community, like TriCity Family Services.  As a Charity Partner, TriCity Family Services was given the opportunity to provide 50% off of race registration fees to participants in exchange for a $100 donation to the agency. 

To add incentive for race participants to give to charity partners, Sheble and Bixler intentionally closed race registration early, leaving only Charity Partner slots open.  This maximized charitable contributions to local charities like TriCity Family Services and ensured that the marathon made a tremendous philanthropic impact on the community that its course runs through.  This year, 20 runners made a $100 gift to TriCity Family Services as part of the Fox Valley Marathon Charity Partner program. 

Miranda Barfuss, Development Manager of TriCity Family Services, recognized Sheble and Bixler with a commemorative award and said “We thank the Fox Valley Marathon for making charity partners a priority while organizing this event.  Creating charity partnerships has made a great impact on our agency and the lives of those we serve.  If other charity partners saw the same success, then the impact on the community has been tremendous.” 

Bixler offered his gratitude for the recognition in return and said, “We’re just getting started.”

TriCity Family Services is a private, not-for-profit, human service that promotes family-centered mental health and wellness.  The agency provides quality, affordable counseling to all ages and all incomes, as well as educational and supportive mental health services to the community at large.