Kevin's Marathon Page

Creator: Kevin Hanna

Help me reach my goal of: $5,000
So far I've raised: $2,676

I am fundraising for Children's Hospital!

On April 16, 2012, I'm running the Boston Marathon on behalf of Children's Hospital Trust and their Miles for Miracles program.  This race is the culmination of my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states.  But while I've been running around, Children's Hospital has been making great strides in healthcare through ongoing research and development, community outreach, and of course direct patient care.

For a wonderful story about an amazing young person, click over to http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Christian-Boyles.htm to see my partner, Christian Boyles, and his page.  Christian is an inspiration and a reminder of the important work being done.

Join me in supporting this outstanding organization; no donation is too big and no donation is too small.  Whatever you can do will have a huge impact on the health and lives of young people everywhere.  Thank you for your support and for supporting Children's Hospital.

UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 2012:

For the month of February, I'll match any donation on my Miles for Miracles at Children's Hospital Trust page, up to a maximum aggregate of $1312.50. If you've already given -- thank you. But can I trouble you for just a few bucks more? Even just $5... I'll match it! And if you haven't had a chance to donate yet -- please do. It's a worthy charity and they do amazing work.




***A bit of background and the original wording of this page appears below***

Ya know, sometimes things have a way of working out.  Over the past few years I set myself a kinda crazy goal of running a marathon in all 50 states.  At the close of 2011, I'll have run a race in 49 of the United States.  Massachusetts is the last and I was saving it for a lot of reasons.  The Boston Marathon is the oldest and toughest race to get into; it requires an incredibly fast time to qualify to run.  Let's be honest -- I'm not the fastest guy around.  But I am tenacious and willing to think outside the proverbial box.  Faced with small odds at achieving a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, I found another way -- a charity bib courtesy of the Children's Hospital.

There's a great narrative joy in such a venture.  I say that because Children's Hospital Boston is all about overcoming odds and making a difference.  In applying for a charity bib, there were a lot of worthy causes that I would have been thrilled to represent.  The key was to find a good fit, a union of ideals and practicalities.That's why of all the charities affiliated with the BAA, I'm so proud to be running with the Miles for Miracles Team. For close to 12 years I worked in adolescent mental health, believing that the sooner a person gets help for the problems they face, the more likely they are to overcome such challenges.  A change today for a young person can yield huge dividends tomorrow for him or her and ultimately for us all.  I believe, as does Children's Hospital Boston, that by working with and helping the young, collectively we can achieve greater things in the future.

With your financial donation to the cause, Children's Hospital Boston can continue their exemplary work, making a difference in the life of a child and his or her family.

Though this may be the end of one story, there's always more tales to be told.   Thank you all for your support and well wishes.  Now let's get going.  The project continues....

***

By the way, here's the standard boilerplated wording of why I'm raising money for Children's Hospital Boston.  It's well written and concise but very clearly not written by me.  That doesn't make it any less sincere or accurate, just that it reads more like the quick cadence of details that an announcer might speedread:

I'm fundraising for this event because I believe so strongly in all the good things Children's Hospital Boston does for kids. Its patient care programs are unusually sensitive to what sick and injured children and their families really need. Its researchers regularly make amazing discoveries that change children's lives. It welcomes kids whose families can't afford health care-more than any other hospital in Massachusetts. It makes a point of reaching out to local communities to help low-income and at-risk kids. And it really gets the importance of training the next generation of top pediatricians and nurses.

My sponsors to date: