Thank you for visiting my Race 4 Health fundraising page! I picked Race 4 Health as a name for this fundraiser as I have a passion for promoting health and strive to encourage others to take steps each day to improve theirs.
There are a number of factors that have brought me to this concept of using a marathon as an event to help raise money for a good cause. They include my daughter Kate, my love of running, and an organization that is committed to helping children around the world.
God blessed us with our daughter Kate a year and a half ago. She was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome (RTS). Through her short life so far Kate has had a variety of medical procedures and treatments.
We are very thankful to have the resources available to meet her needs, the medical expertise of providers right here in Iowa, and good insurance to help cover the costs of Kate’s care. I realize that not all children have these resources available to them, so this fundraiser is specifically for children in underserved countries that don’t have the means to provide for the medical care that they need.
I felt led to choose Compassion International, and more specifically their Medical Assistance Fund as the recipient of the funds that I am raising. Compassion is a Christian child advocacy ministry. Denise and I have sponsored two children with Compassion for many years, Gerold from the Philippines and Rosa Emelia from the Dominican Republic. Both of these children have recently left the Compassion program, so we now have a new child that we sponsor, Katerin a girl with special needs from Guatemala.
Compassion’s Medical Assistance Fund is set up to provide the means for children like Katerin to receive the health related care, treatments, and surgeries that they need, but don’t have the means due to their poverty.
The reason I have picked a marathon and specifically the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon is for a few reasons. First, it has been 10 years since I ran my first marathon. Second, I have a goal of competing in a race in every state in our country during my lifetime. And finally I have a good friend, Mike Aldrink, who lives in Columbus with his wife and daughter. Mike, who is an elite marathoner, is also running the race
Please consider making a donation to the Medical Assistance Fund to help kids like Kate and Katerin receive the medical care that they need but cannot afford.
Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.
If you would rather not donate online, feel free to write a check to Compassion with "Medical Assistance Fund" in the memo. Give the check to me, and I will then send it to Compassion.
Thank you for your support -- and don't forget to forward this link to anyone who you think might want to donate too!
Race 4 Health!
Todd Schemper
For more details on Compassion's Medical Assistance Fund click here.
To learn more about Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, click here.
You are invited to get to know Kate at her CaringBridge site. You will need to create an account.
View the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon website here.