Race to Deliver - A Year Long Adventure

God's Love We Deliver has been on my mind for a full year now.  I ran this exact same 4-miler last year as I wrapped up my marathon qualifying.  I was intrigued by the charity and did a bit of research post-race.  I discovered they have a Birthday Bake Sale ministry where a donation can be made in honor of or in memory of loved ones.  That donation is then used to bake a birthday cake for a New Yorker living with a serious illness so he or she doesn't have to feel so alone on their special day.  I decided this would be a great way to honor each of my family members throughout the year.

I surprised each of them on their birthday with an email telling them all about the donation made in their name.  I was happy to be able to continue giving to this great organization from February to November.  When the Race to Deliver 4-miler rolled around this year, I was SUPER excited to run in support of a charity that has meant so much to me this year.  I also decided I would donate a dollar toward their holiday meal program for every minute I was on the course this year.

I happened to run my best time all year while reflecting on this past year of giving back as I trekked through Central Park on a gorgeous November day.  I managed to run 11:52 per mile for a total time of 47:28.  I'll go ahead and round up to $50 since I love this charity's mission so much!  Check them out HERE if you have interest in learning more about them!

Andrea :)

Race Recap: Healthy Kidney UAE 10k

The Healthy Kidney UAE 10k holds a special place in my heart!  I personally know a handful of individuals that have experienced major kidney issues so running this race is particularly meaningful to me.  This year, I decided to give one dollar to The National Kidney Foundation for every minute I was on the course!

Unfortunately, this race didn't start off too great for me.  I got to the start plenty early, but convinced myself there wasn't time for one last bathroom stop.  As you might guess, this proved to be a mistake.  That became certain at the end of mile one.  I suffered through another mile, but had to stop for roughly 5 minutes (yes, I timed it) to wait in line for the port-o-potties.  Not fun.  I never quite managed to get back into the run.  And it had suddenly become SO hot and humid.  Seriously, I was just one sticky mess by the time I saw Christopher around the mile five marker.  I wanted to quit, but I reminded myself of the reason for the run and pushed to the finish.

I thought I had the most terrible run of my life when I finally made it to the finish line.  You can imagine my surprise when I checked NYRR online results a couple hours later and discovered that I finished with a total time of 1:21:32 at 13:08 minute miles.  Not great for me, but I've definitely done worse!  Overall, I was pleased with the time given way I felt for all 6.2 miles of this one!

Andrea :)

Don't Give Up...Don't Ever Give Up

When the Pittsburgh Panthers come to NYC, Chris wastes no time at all getting us tickets.  They were recently playing in the Jimmy V Classic at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden.

We had already seen Pitt in a tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn earlier this holiday season.  This tournament was different though.  This tournament had a greater purpose.  A more important meaning.

Jimmy Valvano was a basketball coach.  He took his NC State team on a crazy ride to win the 1983 NCAA title.  He was diagnosed with cancer.  And in 1993 he gave this incredibly inspirational speech at the ESPY awards.  He passed away shortly thereafter, but left a legacy behind via his Jimmy V Foundation.

Chris and I watched an ESPN 30 for 30 earlier this year that chronicled Jimmy V's wild chase for the NCAA title.  It was a moving piece.  And it really sparked my interest in his foundation.  I did a little research on it and when Chris told me he had tickets for us to the Classic in December, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity for me to donate to the cause.

How are you giving back this holiday season?

Andrea :)

Love Makes A Family

Family.

What does that word mean to you?  It means the world to me.

To be honest, I'm not sure where I would be without mine.  My parents have been wonderful examples of success, love, and fun for me over the years.  My brothers are two of my very best friends even if they've both done their share of driving me crazy.

But today, I want to tell you about another family.  This family has been a part of my "extended" family for as long as I remember.  Christella and I practically grew up together.  Her mom babysat Jordan and I back in the days before McKinley arrived on the scene.  Christella and I played dolls when we were younger, celebrated Christmas' with game nights when we were a little older, and I served as a bridesmaid for her when she married the love of her life, Jon.

Today, as you can see, Christella and Jon have three children.  And they are in the process of expanding their family through a special needs adoption.  Currently, they have a fundraiser going on that I would ask you to prayerfully consider.  It is super simple AND you could possibly win some prizes, too!  It's a win for everyone!!

They have numbered envelopes from 1 to 150.  All you have to do is request an envelope that matches the amount of money you would like to donate.  It's that simple!  Let's say you want to donate $37, then chose envelope #37 and you're on the way to making an AMAZING difference in the process of helping them bring home their child.

Now, about those prizes! Just for taking part in the fundraiser, you will recieve one entry into a drawing for either $300 or an iPad mini*.  WOW!!  For every $20 you donate, you will recieve an additional entry. And if you share about the fundraiser via a post from their facebook page (check it out HERE), you will recieve an additional entry. So for that $37 donation, you could recieve a total of three entries into the drawing!

I hope that each of you will really consider helping this wonderful couple through their process of adoption. They are truly amazing people that are working to make a difference for children that currently don't have the same sense of family that I grew up knowing. They started their adoption process needing to save and raise $28,600 of the over $41,000 in expenses. They have already raised over $10,000 by the provision of God, and if all 150 envelopes are claimed, they will have collected nearly the balance of what is needed at this time. This family is a true inspiration. Please check out their blog - Love Makes A Family - or contact me directly if you are interested in donating to this great cause!

Andrea :)

*At least 100 envelopes must be claimed in order for drawing to occur. Envelopes can be claimed until December 20, 2013. Additional prizes (gift cards, t-shirts, autographed items) will serve as secondary prizes for the drawing.

Bringing Hope via Clean Water

Bringing hope through providing clean water.  So necessary.  So scarce for many.  And fortunately for you and I, so easy!  This month, I am supporting my favorite via her fundraising efforts as she gears up for a fall marathon!  She is running for World Vision in order to raise money to provide clean water to communities in Africa.  

A couple of interesting facts Tarra included in a recent email:

1 - Just $50 can provide clean water for one person in these villages.  You can easily help one of these precious people access something we take for granted every single day.

2 - Only 0.5% of the US population completes a marathon.  Since I am also on the heels of my first marathon, this fact forces me to truly realize HOW crazy impressive it really is to complete the task.  Best of luck to Tarra (and Evan) as they continue to journey toward their goal of running 26.2!  

Tarra and I after the Diva Half back in the fall of 2010.

Please take a moment to check out Tarra's donation page here.  All donations are much appreciated by not only her, but also the individuals in these less fortunate communities.

How are YOU making a difference in the world?

Andrea :)

Dance with My Daddy

This month, I donated to a wonderful charity - Dance with My Daddy. 

 Dance with My Daddy was designed to allow families to focus on the relationship a father has with their special needs child.  This annual event provides fathers and their child the opportunity to spend quality time together over a hot meal, dancing, and games.  The organization also provide access to other community resources.

This charity is special to me for a couple of reasons. 

First, the founder is one of my Georgetown College buddies!  I could not be more proud of him and what he has established with this organization.  He was always one of my favorites because not only was he a great guy, he was also smart and well rounded.  I knew he would end up doing some great things...and he has proved me right!  Congrats to him on such a wonderful idea and organization!

Second, I have family members with special needs and have seen firsthand how incredibly difficult every day ordinary things can become so I know how very important something like a dance and just general fun night is to these families.  

This particular donation is also timely due to Father's Day earlier this month as well as the book I am currently reading - A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardner - about an autistic boy and his very helpful dog.  Looking forward to reviewing the book for you in a couple weeks!

What are you doing to support wonderful causes in your neighborhood?

Andrea :)

Take Care of Your Kidneys...

 
This month, I decided to give a donation to the National Kidney Foundation.  After running the Healthy Kidney 10k earlier this month, I decided this was the perfect cause to focus on for May.  Check out my recap of the race here to find out more about why this cause is so personal to me!

Hope you checked out the race recap because it really shows how much this particular cause means to me.  I just want to leave you with an astonishing fact about kidney disease as well as the top three ways to test for it from the National Kidney Foundation website.

More than 26 million Americans-one in nine adults-have kidney disease.

Millions more are at increased risk for getting it, and most don't know it. Kidney disease can be found and treated early to prevent more serious kidney disease and other complications.  The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) recommends three simple tests to check for kidney disease:

Blood pressure. High blood pressure is the second most common cause of kidney disease.

Urinalysis. A urinalysis is a test that checks a sample of your urine for the amount of protein, blood (red blood cells and white blood cells) and other things. Protein and red and white blood cells are not normally found in the urine, so having too much of any of these may mean kidney disease.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR). GFR is estimated from results of a serum (or blood) creatinine test. The GFR tells how well your kidneys are working to remove wastes from your blood. It is the best way to check kidney function.

Ask your doctor about these three simple tests. They should be done at least once a year so that if you have early kidney disease, it can be treated right away. Early kidney disease can and should be treated to keep it from getting worse!


Andrea :)

Inspired by The Home. T

A few months back a friend of mine posted a picture of herself with a Kentucky Home. T on facebook.  I knew immediately that I must buy one for myself.  I reached out to her to find out where she might have found such an awesome shirt and she referred me to thehomet.com which you should all go check out!!  After browsing around the website, I decided this would make a perfect gift for our anniversary.  So, I bought one for me and one for Christopher!  They are super comfy and the customer service is absolutely amazing!

Aren't these perfect?  I love them!!

That's not all though.  After purchasing the shirts, I noticed that part of the profits are donated to multiple sclerosis research.  

I was intrigued. So...I did a little research.  And this is what I found according to the National MS Society website.

What is multiple sclerosis?

  It is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.

Who is affected?

MS is thought to affect more than 2.1 million people worldwide. While the disease is not contagious or directly inherited, epidemiologists—the scientists who study patterns of disease—have identified factors in the distribution of MS around the world that may eventually help determine what causes the disease. Anyone may develop MS but there are some patterns. More than twice as many women as men have MS. Studies suggest that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible than others, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited. MS occurs in most ethnic groups, including African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics/Latinos, but is more common in Caucasians of northern European ancestry. 

Can MS be cured?

Not yet. There are now FDA-approved medications that have been shown to "modify" or slow down the underlying course of MS. In addition, many therapeutic and technological advances are helping people manage symptoms. Advances in treating and understanding MS are made every year, and progress in research to find a cure is very encouraging.

To say the least, I was inspired by my Home. T purchase.  

 

I decided to choose MS as my April charity by making an additional contribution to help those scientist find a cure.

I had planned to donate directly to the MS Society, but as fate would have it I saw a facebook posting asking for donations for a friend's upcoming BP MS 150 ride to raise funds and awareness of MS.  It was fate alone that I saw this posting as I haven't spoken to this friend (who I studied in London with back in my grad school days) in years.  Seriously, over 5 years since I had seen or spoken to the guy!  I quickly messaged him letting him know I would happily donate to his cause and a brief background of how I had been looking for an opportunity to donate to MS research this month.  Amazing how things like that work out, huh?  Anyway, he was pumped and as it turns out my company matches the donation so even more dollars headed off to help the cause!

What are you doing to help bring awareness to causes that are important to you?

Andrea :)

Help for Orphans!

When I saw a clothing/sheets drive for orphanages in Haiti in the church bulletin, I knew immediately this would be perfect for my monthly charity project.  The orphanages in Haiti were in need of mostly children's undergarments and sheets.  I threw in a cute fishy onesie as well though.

Ironically, about a week after I collected and donated these goodies for the drive at my church, a family friend emailed me regarding donations for a mission trip she and her daughter.  They would be traveling to El Salvador on a mission trip with Starfish Orphan Ministries at the end of the month.  (They actually leave for the trip today so feel free to follow along with their adventures here.)  I knew immediately that I wanted to donate to their cause as well.  They were looked for similar items, but I just donated some money this time.

I also thought it was ironic that I ended up going to see Annie on broadway earlier this month.  Totally resonated with me in a whole new way since I had been focusing on these two projects during the month as well.  Perspective changes everything, I suppose.

How are you helping make the world a little brighter place for those less fortunate?

Andrea :)

Marty Lyons Foundation

The Marty Lyons Foundation was established in 1982 to fulfill the special wishes of children (age 3-17) that have been diagnosed as having a terminal or life threatening illness.

I heard about this foundation a few years ago when Marty was the guest speaker at an event I was attending.  I was moved by his story about how he decided to start the foundation.  I made contact with the foundation President at the end of the event.  On and off over the past few years, I have been able to help out here and there with this foundation.  This month was one of those times.

Here is Marty's story and vision as it appears on the foundation website:

Marty Lyons was a professional football player in the National Football League, where he served for twelve years as a premiere defensive lineman for the New York Jets.  Early in his career, Marty befriended and became a surrogate father to a three-year-old boy suffereing from an advanced illness.  Three years later, in the spring of 1982, the youngster's death coincided with the sudden death of Marty's father and the birth of his first child, a healthy son.  These experiences profoundly affected Marty's attitude toward life, fame, and his fellow human beings.  With the encouragement and assistance of family and friends, Marty Lyons became determined to establish a foundation dedicated to granting wishes of seriously ill children.

The Marty Lyons Foundation has kept hope alive in the hearts of children with a terminal or life threatening illness by making their special wish come true!  A fulfilled special wish has the ability to sweep the children and their family away from the daily heartache of illness.  It is a joyous time that creates a wonderful memory and a better quality of life.  Every child has a dream, and although we can't promise a lifetime of happiness to these seriously ill children, we can make one dream a reality!

We have granted wishes for a special trip to Disney, meet a celebrity, a computer system, a swimming pool filled with spring water, a shopping spree, special renovations to allow a child to live at home with family, a swin with dolphins, a Cinderella-like "Sweet 16" birthday party and so many more.

Do any charity groups pull at your heart strings?

Andrea :)

Brigance Brigade

As I mentioned when I set my goals for 2013 here, I wanted to expand on an idea my Dad had and our family implemented at Christmas this past year.  I decided to choose a different charity to donate to each month.  This month, I decided to donate money to Brigance Brigade. This wasn't my original plan, but after seeing first hand the inspiration that OJ is to so many people at AFC Championship, my decision was made.  What a first class guy.  Truly incredible story.


Headed to the field at AFC Championship.  Photo by Google Images.

For those of you that don't know, OJ Brigance began his pro football career with the CFL in 1991. He played in the CFL for five seasons eventually helping his team win the Grey Cup.  The following year, 1996, he signed with the Miami Dolphins where he played four NFL seasons.  In 1999, he was honored with the Ed Block Courage Award and was named the NFL Player Association's "Unsung Hero".  He played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2000. As a key member of their special teams unit, he led them to a Super Bowl XXXV victory.  He continued to play two more seasons with the St. Louis Rams before he retired.  He is currently the Senior Advisor to Player Development for the Baltimore Ravens serving as a motivator and inspiration to all.

Photo by Google Images

Photo by Google Images

Unfortunately, OJ Brigance was diagnosed with ALS in May 2007.  The disease is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.  Basically, your brain stops communicating with your body causing your body to slowly shut down completely.  It is truly tragic because there currently isn't any cure or preventitive measures that can be taken when the disease is diagnosed.  Hopefully, continued research will change these facts in the future.

Photo by Google Images.

OJ and his wife, Chanda.  Photo by Google Images.

Andrea :)