Team in Training

Dear family and friends:

On March 17th, 2012, my brother T and I are running the CareFirst Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in our nation’s capital, Washington DC. We’re running with Team in Training (TNT), a national organization focused on training athletes to complete endurance events all over the world. TNT provides coaching and support as we prepare our bodies for the grueling distance. In turn, we must raise a mimimum of $1200 per person to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s work toward finding a cure for blood cancers.

But I bet you’re wondering why we’re putting ourselves through all of this? In May 2011, T and I got the news that everyone dreads. Our Dad, P, had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

For several weeks we all held our breath while he underwent tests, doctor appointments and more tests. In June, we got good news. Our Dad’s cancer was indolent, follicular lymphoma – a slow moving form that readily lends itself to treatment and can often be managed for the duration of a person’s life with limited adverse impact. Relieved, we joked that he had hit the cancer jackpot. No one wants cancer, no matter how slow moving, but his particular diagnosis was met with some relief.

In late July 2011, our Dad finished nearly three weeks of radiation, a treatment the doctors said could CURE his lymphoma. All signs point to his complete recovery and we’re hopeful that his November 2011 doctor visit will reveal just that. In the mean time, he’s busy enjoying life and staying active. Our Dad has never been one to take life lying down and that was his commitment when he told us about his diagnosis – that while there might be tough days there would be no giving up.

So clearly, we’re running to honor our Dad, our own Greek warrior, in his fight with lymphoma. But just as importantly, we’re running for families who aren’t as lucky as we are – for those patients for whom a round of radiation is just the beginning. We’re running to ensure that someday soon, no child will have to hear the words drop from their father’s mouth, “I have cancer.” And no parent will have to watch their son or daughter surrender their childhood to this disease.

Every dollar we raise contributes to the vital cause of finding a cure and we can’t do it alone. If you’d like to pledge your support, donations can be made by accessing our fundraising websites.

And if you’d like to come support us as we burn through 13.1 miles, we’d love a cheering section – come on down!

Thank you for your support! It means more than we can say to our family and to countless others.

A Legacy of Literacy Begins Now

In honor of her 30th birthday, my nearest and dearest friend Nicole is making it her mission to raise $13,000 dollars to build a school in Cambodia.  Literacy has always been a cause close to her heart and, when combined with education, is a great way to help prevent young girls and women from being victimized by human traffickers.  This is a cause I believe is completely worthy of being plugged on the blog.  Below you'll find her fund raising letter, which provides some additional detail on exactly what she's undertaken.  If you know anyone who might be interested in making a donation to this great cause, please forward the information along.  And of course, feel free to leave any fund raising ideas in comments and I'll be sure to pass them along!!

Happy 30th Cole!

Fund raising letter from Nicole - 

Hello friends and family,

As most of you know, I turn 30 this May, and I’ve been thinking about doing something meaningful to mark the occasion. Everyone who knows me knows that the cause dearest to me is literacy because of my lifelong love affair with books (and newspapers and journals and magazines). So… I have decided that I would like to build a school!

I just finished Nick Kristof’s book Half the Sky, which is full of fantastic ideas to help women around the world, and one project in particular really caught my attention: a non-profit that builds schools in Cambodia, where the low literacy and high poverty rates make it a hub for the trafficking of girls and women. Think of an 8 or 9 year old girl close to you, whether it is your daughter, niece, or a friend’s daughter. Now imagine that girl being sold, at that age, to a brothel. Education is the best weapon we have against such a disgusting trade because it gives wome n options, knowledge, confidence and community.

I’ve checked out this program pretty thoroughly and am satisfied that it is a good one… and the 13k that donors raise to build a school is matched with 13k from the World Bank and then by another 13k from the Asian Development fund – a great value! Here’s the website: http://www.cambodiaschools.com/

I hope that you will participate in helping me reach this goal. I realize that 13k sounds like a lot, esp. in this economy, but I’m not looking for big amounts from anyone, I’m looking for small amounts from lots of people! So the more this is shared, the easier it will be to reach the goal. If you have any connections to businesses or firms with philanthropy programs, or faith communities that you feel comfortable reaching out to, that would be most welcome!

I’ve set up a new email address called letsbuildaschool@gmail.com with a linked PayPal account to help me keep track of fund raising. I’d like to be able to thank the people who contribute, so please email me and let me know who you are (if you aren’t comfortable announcing your identity or donation amount I totally understand, but I won’t be able to tell people’s identities from their PayPal info. to be able to thank them).

I will also send out an update on our total once a month to interested parties.

Thank you so much for helping. I want more women to have as much love & luck as I have.