Your participation in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge in San Francisco will benefit underserved and at-risk kids through the YMCA's Kids to Camp Fund.

Biggest San Francisco crowd in 20 years
to help YMCA's Kids to Camp Fund

SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2010 - The return of the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge® in San Francisco to its roots on the Embarcadero is proving more popular than the most optimistic projections, and the big winner will be the race beneficiary - the YMCA of San Francisco’s Kids to Camp Fund.

More than 6,500 entrants from 260 companies - the event's largest crowd in San Francisco since 1990 - will be on hand when the 26th running of the city's Corporate Challenge is held on Wednesday, August 4. The new location for the race is Piers 30 & 32 on the San Francisco Embarcadero, with a race start at 7 p.m.

The large turnout – up 21 percent over last year's gathering of 5,376 and a whopping 300 percent increase over 2003 – is an indication that the Bay Area work force understands the importance of a healthy work/life balance. The JPMorgan Chase Foundation will acknowledge the efforts of the participants by making a donation to the YMCA of San Francisco's Kids to Camp Fund.  

The donation will help send dozens of underserved and at-risk Bay Area kids to YMCA Camp Jones Gulch, a spectacular 1,000 acre natural treasure in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At Camp, kids will hike among the redwoods, come face-to-face with wildlife, hike in the foothills, and make s’mores on a campfire. The Camp offers kids new challenges and experiences in positive, inspiring and safe environments. It gives them a chance to make lifelong friendships and enjoy structured play and skill building while learning the four YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

The Corporate Challenge donation will give kids who might otherwise be left on their own after school and during the summer the chance to participate in engaging activities that will help them make successful transitions to adulthood. More information about the YMCA Camp Jones Gulch is available at http://www.ymcasf.org/campjonesgulch/.

This is the first year that the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge has been held on the Embarcadero since 1990.  Perhaps not coincidentally, it is the largest crowd since that year, when a Bay Area record 7,094 registered.

The new route for the 3.5-mile race will be an out-and-back course on the Embarcadero, starting south and running through China Basin and behind AT&T Park. The staging area is easily accessible from BART, Muni and CalTrain, and a short walk from downtown.

There will be first-come, first-serve $7 parking available at Embarcadero and Bryant.