Isabelle Thompson is making a difference in the lives of numerous Gold Star teens by honoring her own father, CPT Jp Thompson, who lost his life in Afghanistan on January 29, 2010.
This year, on the 12th anniversary of her father’s death, Isabelle is hosting the 2022 CPT Jp Thompson Memorial Hero WOD at CrossFit Kaiju in Matthews, North Carolina, with all proceeds benefitting Gold Star Teen Adventures (GSTA). What began as her senior project quickly became her own way of contributing to the mission of GSTA. Isabelle says, “This is a very difficult day for me and my family, and I think turning this anniversary into something to benefit the GSTA community can help focus the day into something positive.”
For those who are unfamiliar with the GSTA mission, we aim to provide unique adventures to the surviving children of fallen military personnel, first responders, and intelligence agency officials who lost their lives. These adventures are molded around three pillars: healing, leadership development and opportunity.
Isabelle has participated in several of these events, and has said that the opportunity to meet with other teens who have experienced a similar loss has helped her process her grief and grow as a person.
When asked why she selected GSTA as the beneficiary for her event, Isabelle said, “I chose GSTA because they care so immensely for me and other teens in ways that are unique to our situation. I think that caring for teens of fallen special operators, like GSTA does is the necessary bridge to ensuring that these teens grow, develop, and push themselves the way their fallen special operator would have wanted them to. We are the children of parents who sought challenges, faced immense hardships, and persevered. These are the qualities GSTA embodies, while at the same time, building relationships that will last a lifetime.”
CPT Thompson was a member of the CrossFit community, and has his own Hero WOD named after him. For those who are unfamiliar with CrossFit, WOD is simply an acronym for workout-of-the-day. A Hero WOD is a tribute to a member of the military who has died while serving in the line of duty. The Thompson WOD consists of 10 rounds for time of 1 rope climb, 29 back squats, and 10 meters of barbell farmer’s carry. The reps and rounds are significant, as they reflect the day that he was killed: 1.29.10.
We could not be more proud to recognize Isabelle as a member of our GSTA family, and we are truly honored that she thought to honor us on this difficult day.
For more information on Isabelle’s event, as well as how you can sign up or support, please visit the 2022 CPT Jp Thompson Memorial Hero WOD website by clicking the button below.
