We did it! Forty people now have clean water! $86.20 came in on Wednesday to bring our current fundraising total to $2018.20. I am so blown away and so continuously humbled by your generosity. Thank you.
I have to admit that this week was another rough one. The kids were up at all hours of the night two nights in a row, it rained cats and dogs on Monday and I had no way to keep Elijah dry in the jogging stroller, I have been crazy busy organizing the preschool charity drive, working on my Christmas list, baking, all the usual stuff. The excuses pile up pretty fast around here. I'm ashamed to tell you that the last time I ran was on Saturday, the day of my cathartic seven miler.
All that being said? I miss running. Every day I have this inexplicable longing to lace up my shoes and get out there in the fresh air. If you had told me a few months ago that I'd actually look forward to a body-taxing run? I would have laughed in your face and helped myself to another brownie!
The process of training for these races and talking to people about clean water is changing me ... it is charging me up with new life. My heart every day is broken for the thirsty but at the same time I am so excited about the (now 40!) ones who will never have to worry about where they will get clean water again! I am driven by the thought that if I keep at this - if I keep running and keep fighting - that something can be done to change the course of someone's entire life. I am so encouraged by your faithful support in this. I am so excited to embrace these people on the other side of the world together.
Today is the last day to enter the drawing for the necklace and box of Meyer lemons. I received the necklace in the mail yesterday and it is GORGEOUS.
Any donors who contribute by tomorrow at noon (PST) will be eligible to win the necklace and lemons. I am allowing this because tomorrow morning I strap the children into the double jogger and run a long run (8 miles). It is going to start early. It is probably going to hurt because of the off week I've had. John might not be there to push the stroller for me because he has an early meeting. So I am asking ... friends? Will you help me push that stroller? Will you keep me running by helping to provide more clean water for more people?
Remember, it only takes $10 or more to enter the raffle. Everyone who donates $26.20 or more will also receive a recycled t-shirt scarf!
$50 can provide a person in East Africa with clean water for the rest of their lives. But clean water is only the beginning. Available clean water gives a child back 6-8 hours a day to go to school. It gives a mother back 6-8 hours a day to care for her children, to work on her home, and the opportunity to begin a small business that can deliver her family from abject poverty. It removes victims from the paths of kidnappers who lurk on the road to water. It cuts a community's infant death mortality rate in half. Livestock and crops flourish. Disease decreases.
This is living water. Life to the full. We care. And so we run. And we keep running and keep fighting and we never give up as long as we have breath in our lungs. People are worth it.
p.s. If you haven't seen this video yet, buckle your seatbelt. I saw it for the first time on Sunday and it rocked me to the core.
I WILL HELP YOU PUSH THAT STROLLER, MANDA!!!!
I am running out the door right now, but I comment to hold myself accountable to follow through when I get home. Thanks for extending the deadline so losers like me have another opportunity. I AM SO PROUD TO KNOW YOU!
Posted by: Maggie | Friday, December 16, 2011 at 05:43 PM
This could be off-topic, but if you're anywhere in or near LA, there are a lot of fundraising events for the benefit of the less fortunate where you can participate in. Donate your clothes and shoes like what Greenopolis.com did and be rewarded for your actions. http://youtu.be/jk1mH9JvRr0
Posted by: alex | Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 05:50 AM