This Sunday, Trantolo & Trantolo is sponsoring the Car & Bike Wash for Andrew Races, a fundraising effort to assist Andrew Haraghey, a teen with cerebral palsy who has been training for a spot on the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team. Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a rain date of August 5, the event will be held at First Niagara at 73 Hazard Avenue in Enfield. Attendees have an opportunity to win two regular season tickets to a Red Sox game and to win a $1,000 gift certificate to a local motorcycle dealer. Haraghey and the Trantolo Girls will both be present at the Car & Bike Wash.
Haraghey, 16, strives to attend the Paralympics in Russia in 2014, and currently, he is attending a training camp in Mount Hood, Ore., with other disabled athletes. His endeavor involves a significant amount of training, travel, racing, and equipment, and finding sponsors and financial aid, through events like this weekend’s Car & Bike Wash, is a year-round undertaking.
Haraghey took up skiing when he was 7 years old and learned to ski independently after three years. In October 2007, AbilityPLUS approached him at Mount Snow in Vermont, asking him to mentor students with disabilities. While Haraghey began his formal training in the 2009-’10 season, he continues to mentor and volunteer as a skiing and snowboarding instructor. In December 2010, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the National Race Festival at the Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge, Colo., where Mau Thompson, the 2011 USSA Adaptive Coach of the Year, selected him as “Emerging Athlete” and prospective participant in the 2014 Paralympics in Russia.
Fundraising for his journey began in August 2011 and was a major success from the start. Haraghey, as a result, was able to attend the training camps in Breckenridge, Mount Snow, Camelback, Penn., and Windham, NY and compete in his first Nationals races at Waterville Valley, NY. Upcoming fundraising event include Golf With Andrew at Sonny’s Place in Somers on August 15 and Ride for Andrew in Ellington on September 16.
