Help Elaine raise money

Hello!  As some of you know, I am a casual runner who happens to run a lot of races but I only fundraise once a year.  Why this race?  This race represents so much to me.  It's grounded in honoring someone who is no longer with me.  It's a way for me to demonstrate a couple of my core values -- connection and community.  And it is a practice...a practice of healing that allows me to be in the present moment.  

When I run, I am connecting within.  I honor my mom who isn't with me anymore.  She passed away in a car accident on October 10, 1987.  Sadly, I don't have a video of her or a way to hear her voice again but I hear her mantra, "Knowledge is power."  In this spirit, I run the Break A Sweat for Education Race for her because she believed in the power of education.  She believed that we should always be learning.  She also believed that we can do things when we set our minds to do them.  As I connect within, I find community with my soul, my heart, and my spirit and this allows me to connect with others and build a community where people feel supported.

Thankfully, I have photos of her. 

This is a photo of my mom that I had on my wedding bouquet.

This is a picture of my mom who believed that food brings people together -- her way of creating community.

This is me with my mom when we lived in Guam.

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Yours Humanly Board and Advisory Board at our Annual Gala -- March 2022.

Yours Humanly has given me a chance to be a part of a community that supports children around the world by providing access to educational resources and tools to improve literacy, learning conditions, and other programs that offer an improved learning experienc for children in underserved areas.  The organization has had initiatives in Contra Costa County in Northern California, Vallejo, Oakland, Haiti, Nepa, Cambodia, and India.  I hope to see a project in the Phillippines one day -- a computer lab that could possibly be in my mother's hometown barrio in Santiago, Botolan, in the province of Zambales -- The Esperanza Arandia Dizon Computer Lab.

I run this race every year because of that vision.  Each time I train it is a small sweet step to remember her.  Each time I fundraise, I know every dollar has supported a child.  October can be a challenging month for me because it can move me to grief and sadness.  Over the years, I have found ways to shift my energy towards healing practices that keep me in the present.  This race is one of them.  Staying present in connecting with others as we share the Yours Humanly mission and encourage others to join us on race day.  Celebrating Filipino American History Month throughout October is another way to be present as we continue to share our history, literature, and heritage.  My family -- my lovely family who shows up to this race to support me and the organization is another way for me to recognize and honor the present moment.

My family and I at the race in 2019.

My pops -- whose generous support and conscious parenting skills continue to astonish me.

How I show up in this world is fundamentally based on my parent's decision to move to the United States.  They wanted to offer me and my brother a better shot at education.  Some families don't have this opportunity.  

I hope you consider donating.  No amount is too small.

As you support me and our team, you are supporting children with that chance to experience, "Knowledge is power."  It is a moment that can change their perspective and perhaps their life.