Help Leslee raise money

I am running the 2023 ASICS Falmouth Road Race for the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation. I didn't know Vanessa, but I vividly remember reading the newspaper articles about her. I remember thinking I am just like her.…we are all just like her.    My mom lives in a bucolic and ‘safe’ area where I have taken thousands of walks/runs by myself. Vanessa was doing a simple thing she enjoyed - talking a walk during the day right near her parents' home. She should have been able to do that without being in danger of violence that led to her murder. Yet 600 women are assaulted every day and 1 out of every 6 women are the victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. 

The Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation is advocating for a world where all women are safe and free to live boldly and fearlessly and to reduce objectification and harassment of women. I am running in support of this Foundation for my seven-year-old daughter, for myself, for my women friends and family and for ALL women, because we all deserve to be safe. We shouldn't have to look over our shoulder while taking a walk/run, we shouldn't have to call a friend when we get in an Uber, to worry about what we are wearing, park next to the stairs in a parking garage ... let alone defend ourselves in our own homes from spouses, boyfriends, etc. 

The Foundation offers self-defense trainings for women and other educational opportunities (like boys programs that teach bystander intervention techniques, character building, etc.) through strategic partnerships to address the root causes of violence. I am running for an organization striving for a world where women are safe and free to live boldly! If you want that same world please consider a donation to my fundraising page.