The Chocolate Chronicles

Team Ascendance — Dancing, Giving, and Growing Together

At Ascendance, community and youth leadership are at the heart of everything. What began as a small group of dancers, families, and friends has grown into one of the most spirited and youth-driven teams on the Hot Chocolate Run course. Each year, Team Ascendance brings movement, creativity, and heart to the event, dancing, cheering, and fundraising to support Safe Passage.

“We’ve watched the team grow, and it’s awesome,” says Kathryn Carpenter, who leads the studio’s community outreach. “It’s hands-down our favorite community event of the year. We can’t wait to surpass last year’s record and dance in the streets on December 7.”

Team Ascendance (and previously Team AIWA) has raised over $12,000 for Safe Passage, with participation from people of all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. “Our team is unique because it represents every kind of person in our studio community,” says studio owner Laurel Anne Boyd. “Our teens love to make up dances along the route, and sometimes I choreograph a routine for our company members to perform during the race to keep spirits high and encourage runners. It’s all about bringing joy, energy, and the true spirit of community.”

For parent and top fundraiser Kate Kelly, the Hot Chocolate Run holds a deeper meaning. “I’m motivated to raise funds every year because I’m grateful to have had a safe home,” she shares. “Each year I walk in honor of someone surviving violence. The Hot Chocolate Run is an act of gratitude and community.”

 

Longtime team member Asante Gaffney Jiggetts adds, “Team AIWA holds the balance of community and survivorship joy, while honoring the struggle survivors walk. I’ve had deep conversations with other survivors along the route about what it took, and still takes, to heal. It’s an amazing experience.”

The heart of the team is its youth members, who bring excitement and connection to everything they do. “It’s become a family studio tradition,” says dancer Deryn Potter-Hewes. “I can’t wait to see the new mug each year.” Fellow dancer Mayu Nakamura agrees: “The event is so inviting, whether you’ve been here forever or just moved here, like me.”

For many, one of the most powerful moments comes at the finish line. “I remember one year I ran instead of walked,” recalls student Sylvia Beckwith Brown. “Seeing the rest of the team cheering near the end gave me the energy to give that final push. The energy is always amazing.”

Whether they are dancing along the route, donning fluffy boas, or flooding social media with fundraising messages, Team Ascendance embodies what the Hot Chocolate Run is all about: youth leadership, joy, gratitude, and community in motion.

Check out their page here: Ascendance