The 2026 Amazing Resource Race was just that—AMAZING!
Teams raced across the county to complete life-skills-building tasks and decipher clues to determine their next race stop. Some of the life skills learned at each stop:
- Financial Literacy at GTE Financial: through a hands-on challenge, participants learned to determine what expenses are wants vs. needs.
- Critical Thinking & Problem Solving at Bridgepoint Seminole: participants were challenged to relay races that had them think creatively on how to succeed.
- Digital Literacy at Bizco: participants learned the importance of online safety, including social media, as well as the skill of professional email communication.
- Communication Challenge at Largo Health Department: team members worked together to complete an obstacle course, block building, and origami with one member blindfolded and the other relaying directions.
- Credit Literacy at Regions: participants learned best practices on how to establish and maintain good credit.
- Employment Literacy at CareerSource Tampa Bay: teams took part in a crash course on finding, applying, and securing a job.
- Housing & Legal Literacy: teams stepped into a real-world renting scenario where they reviewed a sample lease, identified common issues tenants may face, and learned how to protect themselves.
- Technology & IT with MetroTech: teams learned how to identify and connect several important devices, like phones, tablets, and computers.
- Acts of Kindness at Random Acts of Flowers: teams made a bouquet to give to a stranger as a random act of kindness.
After working together to find all nine of the Race stops and tackle the challenges, all the teams met up at Quaker Steak for a big finish-line party to celebrate their hard work and determination!
We also included a bonus challenge this year: to write a letter of growth and reflection after the Race. A few quotes from the young adults: “This was fun! I learned how to hook up a pc or computer to the ethernet. It was very interesting. I would love for other people to do [the Race] and do it with friends and family. It really tests your communication and skills.”
“I learned a lot from this race. There is so much that goes into it. I learned about a lease agreement. I didn’t even know what that was until today! I’ve also learned communication goes a long way.”
We can’t forget the HUGE thank you to our sponsors, race stop hosts, volunteers, and team drivers!! We couldn’t do this without you.
