UPDATE: I'm excited to share the news that my company was nice enough to donate a gift card for dinner for two at L'Espalier, our flagship restaurant in Boston's Back Bay, in support of me and Jonathan. The value of this is quite high, so we will be raffling it off among all of our supporters! For each $20 donated - which represents each child helped to receive sporting equipment - you will receive one raffle entry. Once all of the donations are tallied, we'll pull a number and let you all know who wins!  

 

Dear Friends & Family,

Quite unexpectedly, an opportunity arose in January for me to run the Boston Marathon in April.  I have been running half-marathons for 3+ years now and it has been a lot of fun training with my sister and my husband for various races, but I always thought a marathon was out of the question.  Until recently, the thought never entered my mind, but as our times got better at the 13.1 distance, I started to think that maybe in the next few years, it might be time to take the next step.  And then on Monday morning, an email was forwarded that said space was available to run for Good Sports and within a couple of hours, my sister and my husband convinced me that now was the time.  With the big 3-0 just around the corner, why not do it now?  We were already training for another half, so our long runs are at 9-10 miles these days, meaning we at least aren't starting from scratch.

And Good Sports is an easy organization to rally for - they distribute sports equipment, footwear, and apparel to community organizations offering programs to disadvantaged youth helping to lay the foundation for healthy, active lifestyles. 

Since 2003 Good Sports has:

• Provided $6 million worth of equipment
• Impacted more than 350,000 kids
• Served nearly 750 youth programs

Why this is important:

• Participation in team sports has been in steady decline for decades.
• Urban youth are much less likely to participate in sports and fitness programs than suburban youth. Over 60% of suburban youth participate in sports leagues compared to 20% of urban youth.
• Kids who play sports are 57% less likely to drop out of school, 49% less likely to take drugs, and 37% less likely to become teen parents.
• Childhood obesity more than tripled from 1975-2004, from just more than 5% to a projected 16.7%.

We live in the city, I have worked with Boston youth in the past, and Jonathan has spent his entire career working in the field of education and youth development.  We see firsthand the impact sports and activities can have on the success of city youth and I'm happy to support an organization that is making great strides in this area. 

So now for the ask - $3,000 is a significant sum of money.  I have about 90 days to get there and I'm counting on your help.  Every $20 donation gives one child access to critical sports and fitness programs, meaning when these funds are raised, you will be part of helping 150 kids get the access they need.  Please consider donating anything you can. 

Thank you so much for your support and please feel free to forward this page on to anyone you think may be interested in supporting my run!  I will keep everyone updated on our training and fundraising goals and I can't wait to cross the finish line in three months!

Best,
Lauren