My team
Why I'm running a virtual event
Chris Stiles and I (and Service Dog Maui Says You’re Welcome) are participating in the Palo Alto Weekly's 36th Annual (virtual) Moonlight Run and Walk!
If any local friends want to join our team, please let me know! (team name is Mauiwowie - DM me for the password!) We haven't yet decided when we will be walking specifically for this event but it has to completed be BEFORE 11:59pm on October 2nd.
The registration fees and any donations gathered provide grants to around 50 local nonprofit organizations that support families and children. Some of the ways the grants are used include: pairing low-income students with Stanford mentors, providing grief support to children and adults in their native language, offering legal assistance to struggling East Palo Alto renters, feeding local seniors daily healthy meals, and so much more.
This walk means a lot to me as Priory's cross country team ran it back in 2013 right after I had to leave the team due to (what was then unknown) health issues that only continued to deteriorate (until I took medical leave from college in late 2017). So for me, by at least walking in the (albeit modified) event, I feel like I will be "reclaiming" a bit of what my health has taken from me in the past while also proving to myself how far I have come since my health "rock bottom".
It hasn't been easy rebuilding my physical strength and stamina and I am nowhere near where I want to be... but this is a tangible marker of the large change in my physical health (especially within the last year or so).
It is also the event/location of the first photo ever taken of Chris and I together 7 years ago - about a month before we started dating! (see my raceroster profile photo for pic)!
If you feel so inclined to donate, thank you very much!
And thank you to everyone who has been a part of my health journey. I wouldn't be where I am without all of your support.
Description
My registration fee and any additional money you help me raise goes to the Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run & Walk, a fundraiser that donates all net proceeds to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund.
This year, perhaps more than ever, my registration fees and fundraising efforts will be critical in helping us answer the needs of the ~50 local organizations that request grant money from the Holiday Fund.
The nonprofits use these grants, which generally range from $5,000 to $20,000, to pair low-income students with Stanford mentors, provide grief support to children and adults in their native language, offer legal assistance to struggling East Palo Alto renters, feed local seniors daily healthy meals, and so much more.
Help me increase my contribution to the Holiday Fund so they can say yes to calls for support.
Thank you!
View all 2019 grants and recipients below.
Learn more about them here.
