(Please read all about Holly's mission and then scroll down from some more from Matt)

As many of you know, I work with Walker Home and School (www.walkerschool.org) bettering the lives of the most troubled children in the state of Massachusetts.  I am proud to be a part of such a dedicated team that strives to provide struggling families with the tools necessary to strengthening their lives 

The lovely people in HR heard that I was training for the Boston Marathon without a number, and asked me to run on behalf of Walker in replacement of an injured teammate.  I gratefully accepted the opportunity to represent The School, and now I am looking for your help in providing the children at Walker with the resources they need to live a better life.  No gift is too small, and I can say with confidence that these children are more than deserving of any support received. 

I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to read about Walker and my efforts to finish the marathon as a member of its Team of runners.

Thank YOU!

Holly Manigan

A message from Matt:

Thanks so much for visiting my donation page and helping me in supporting the Walker School.

There are so many different reasons for wanting to donate to this worthy charity; supporting it's mission, helping kids, making a difference, and most importantly making me suffer through 26 miles and 385 yards of constant agony.

*update*

Well, that was the original plan. Unfortunately not every part of my body has proved to be as dedicated to this worthy cause as the others. 95% of me wants to complete the race, but one knee has opted out. I am currently examining my options for hopping the marathon, but the initial reactions from seasoned runners has not been positive.

Good fortune would have it that Holly was waiting in the wings for a chance to run the race, so all is not lost. We both have Marathon numbers now, and if at all possible we will both complete this race for the Walker School.

Please do your best to support Holly and I in this effort. Training for the Boston Marathon is an endurance task itself, getting up pre-dawn for weeks in the Boston winter cold and running around the Charles River on a sheet of ice. We've done the best we can every day to make this happen, but we can't succeed without your donations. I'm counting on all of you. :)