Fit for charity: Short sets goal of 3K push-ups for St. Jude

Karah Wilson, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Nov. 12—Owensboro resident Grant Short is fit for charity, and he is proving that with a goal of 3,000 decline pushups for St. Jude Children's Hospital.

"The month of November has become known as a month of fundraising for nonprofits and challenges, in part, thanks to social media trends," he said. "Some things about social media trends can be annoying, or even toxic, so I love this positive trend."

Short said he began narrowing down nonprofit groups to fundraise for and eventually landed on St. Jude.

"St. Jude Children's Hospital is doing various challenges this month, and I chose the 3,000 pushup challenge," he said. "The work that they do is unbelievable. I think helping kids who have cancer and other illness is literally the least we could do as a society."

The work St. Jude does for their patients is something personal to Short.

"I lost my mother to cancer, so I also saw this as a great way to fight back," he said. "I admire the work that they do, and I have talked to nurses who work there, and I don't know how they mentally and physically do it everyday."

Not only does Short want to bring awareness to his own fundraiser, but he would also like to encourage others to visit the St. Jude Facebook page and pick a challenge to participate in.

"I am a high-volume weightlifter and marathon runner, but there are many other challenges they are doing across varying difficulties," he said.

For an extra challenge, Short has decided to do the pushups at a decline with his feet positioned at a 45-degree angle.

"I am also hoping to do a high percentage of them as handstand pushups. At this rate, I hope to double the goal and more," he said. "I think after my mom died from cancer, I started pushing myself to the point of suffering when I workout, as an homage to her suffering."

Having a disability is something Short is familiar with.

"In May, I was diagnosed with epilepsy caused by too many concussions from playing football when I was growing up," he said. "It's been hard having to come to terms with having a disability."

As of Friday, Short has completed 2,267 pushups and is using the Fitbod app to track his progress.

Short's monetary goal is $250. He has raised $190 so far. He said he is using the pushups as a way to direct attention to the fundraising page on Facebook.

"There is a gap in public policy where a lot of families are struggling to take care of their children in awful situations," he said. "I'm just trying to find ways to be active and contribute."

For more information on Short's pushup challenge and fundraising efforts, visit www.facebook.com/donate/610266554175559/? fundraiser_source=external_url.