As a kid growing up in Codman Square, Michael Kaplanidis watched scores of runners tackle the miles, weather and heartbreak —the hill and otherwise— of the Boston Marathon. This April, he plans to cross the finish line himself while raising money for Codman Academy’s Wellness program.

“Even if I walk, crawl, run across the line, it’s a matter of finishing the run for Codman Academy to raise as much money as possible for the school,” Kaplanidis said.

After emigrating from Greece with his family when he was just 6 years-old, Kaplanidis lived on the first floor of a Talbot Ave. three decker, with his aunt on the second floor and another Greek family on the third. From Talbot Avenue, the family moved a block away to Epping Street, where they lived in a house that was eventually torn down. The lot is now occupied by part of Codman Academy.

Every now and again, Kaplanidis said he “drive[s] down the past,” rolling along Melville Ave. where he attended Greek school every day from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. after American school. Before hitting the books until late at night, Kaplanidis and his brother would help their parents translate bills, news and anything else they could, forcing them to grow up quickly and become their parents’ “eyes and ears” in America.

His father ran “Arthur’s Place” on Dot Ave. for 18 years.

“We kind of grew up and were immersed in the community,” said Kaplanidis. “My feelings are strong about inner city development and giving back to where we came from. And that’s part of the reason I’m doing this marathon – a big, big reason.”

As a Saturday morning tutor and donor to the academy, Kaplanidis always finds time to give back to the Codman Square community. A few years ago, an NPR story about the school caught his attention.
“It just touched a chord with me in the sense that we got reconnected again,” he said. “Talbot Ave. was me and I was Talbot Ave.”

Kaplanidis is the founder and managing director of Water Street Associates, a tax preparation and planning firm in Boston. Since marathon Monday this year falls on the deadline day for taxes (April 16), Kaplanidis plans to have a bench and computer set up in Copley Square to file electronic returns near the finish line.

A Georgetown graduate school alumnus, Kaplanidis is following an 18-week training program, running on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights and capping the week with a long run on Saturdays. He is modest about his logged miles – he’s up to 10 per run.

“Great progress, though,” Didi Lutz, his fiancée, encouraged him during a phone interview.

This is the first time Codman Academy applied for and was selected to be part of the John Hancock Boston Marathon Non-Profit Program, receiving five runner bibs. Those runners – locals Kaplanidis, Rebecca Cipriano, Sean Wilder, Codman track coach Lawrence Hester, and Troy Lewis from Utah – will raise a minimum of $5,000 for the Academy’s Wellness program, the school’s health, fitness and nutrition program which won the Gold-Level Massachusetts School Wellness Award last fall. The award is given by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Public Health.

At a recent visit to the school, Kaplanidis was impressed by the camaraderie among students. It’s a “big family, team-oriented [environment],” he said.

“The kids who are part of Codman Academy are ultra-motivated,” Kaplanidis observed.

“It’s more of an intimate approach to learning which is really bringing them together as a community,” Lutz added.

Down the road, the couple hopes to set up scholarships and a foundation for students and teachers, respectively, to encourage furthering the students’ education and compensating underpaid, hardworking teachers.

“What really matters is to give back. Just don’t ever forget where you came from,” Kaplanidis said. “It’s something that should be ingrained in your heart. To me, it makes a big difference to give back to Codman Academy because…it’s part of who I am.”

The couple got engaged at the end of October and will be getting married this summer in Greece, where Kaplanidis’ parents are now retired.

“It’s a year of many finish lines,” he laughed.

To donate, visit Kaplanidis’ fundraising site at crowdrise.com/michaelkaplanidis.