Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Race for the Cure

One of the cool things about running races is that quite often they're put on to raise money for a specific cause. So not only is the race a goal that I can use to help keep myself in line with an exercise and training program, but it's something that I feel worthwhile supporting.

In the past few years, my entry fees have gone to support urban forestry/tree planting in Missoula (Run for the Trees), women's health issues (Blue Mountain Women's Run), and Missoula youth programs (Rattlesnake 5k).

I recently found out about a run taking place in Helena, MT, that's a fundraiser for Komen Montana, a branch of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a global catalyst in the fight against breast cancer. Susan G. Komen for the Cure has a nearly 25-year history of patient advocacy, building awareness and raising funds for research and community outreach programs.

Amy had mentioned this run to me back in the winter, and when I checked out the website a month or so ago, I saw that they were encouraging folks to put together teams to run the race and raise money through sponsorships. So I decided to try to organize a team of gals to run the race together. What better way to spend a Saturday with friends, to help with fundraising for a local non-profit, and to encourage other women I know to get out there and run.

So I started recruiting friends. So far our team consists of 9 gals from the Missoula area who all work in the natural resources/outdoors realm or are big fans of the woods... so we named our team the "Wild and Woodsy Women." We initially set our fundraising goal at $500-- or about $50 per person. But we soon realized that we could do much more! As of today we're up to $914 in donations... and there are still three weeks to go! Maybe we should bump up our fundraising goal to $1500 :)

Would you be interested in joining us? You can pitch in by joining the team and running with us on May 17 (you don't have to be a woman!). Or you can donate to the cause. Don't have much to give? That's okay. Try just $5. Any little bit will be appreciated by someone affected by breast cancer... and there are many of us who have been or will be.

Statistics show that approximately one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. Statisically that's at least one of us from our team. And many more of us will be secondarily affected-- as partners, friends, daughters, mothers, or co-workers of someone with breast cancer. So our participation in this race is a small step that we can take towards supporting this organization that seeks to: save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all, and energizing science to find the cures.

Thanks for your support. And don't forget to do your monthly breast exam!

2 comments:

Robyn said...

I bet you can raise $1500! I just made my donation.

mtcurls said...

Thanks, R. I'll return the favor soon :)