Serious Fun Network/North Star Reach

"I wish I could recall with clarity the impulse the compelled me to help bring camp into being. I'd be pleased if I could announce a motive of lofty purpose. I've been accused of compassion, of altruism, of devotion to Christian, Hebrew, and Moslem ethic, but however desperate I am to claim ownership of a high ideal, I cannot. I wanted, I think, to acknowledge Luck: the chance of it, the benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in lives of others: made especially savage for children because they may not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it." - Paul Newman 


A few years ago, I had the good fortune of getting involved with the Serious Fun Network (then known as the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps) and since 2007, these amazing camps have only further inched their way into my heart. Paul Newman founded the first camp in Connecticut in the very year I was founded, and the network has continued to grow since then. The camps are designed to give children with life-altering conditions and illnesses the chance to simply be kids in a safe and loving environment.  Spending a week at The Painted Turtle and a week at Hole in the Wall Gang Camp left such an imprint that I wanted to do my part to help send children to camp (because yes, it's free!). This was the push I needed to commit to my first half-marathon, which I ran as part of Team Hole in the Wall. 


About a month after I moved out to Michigan last summer, I learned of North Star Reach, a provisional member of the Serious Fun Network, being built just 30 miles from where I live! Last month, before leaving for New Orleans, I had the wonderful honor of accompanying 3 kids to their first week of magic at Hole in the Wall Gang Camp as part of the Camp on the Move program. This initiative sends deserving children to a camp already in existence while one closer to them is being built. This summer, 30+ kids were sent from Michigan to three different Hole in the Wall camps - Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut, Victory Junction in North Carolina, and Double H in New York. As a travel chaperone, my job was to help the kids get to the fun....and then sadly turn around and come back! Due to the craziness of this summer, I'm not able to spend a full week at camp, but I still wanted to be involved and even if it was only for about an hour (the length of a very tasty lunch, thank you very much!), it was so great being back at Hole in the Wall and it made me want to share the love with all those I love....so expect forceful invitations to get involved and volunteer in summers to come!


Yesterday, I started reading Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good, written by Paul Newman and his partner, A. E. Hotchner, about the start of mass producing salad dressing, the creation of Newman's Own, and the beginning of Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and its related camps. While I knew funding for each camp did not solely come from Newman's Own, I didn't know that to this day, 100% of all profit is donated to charity - WOWZAS! The book was an easy, quick read (did I mention I finished it today?), and it made me feel all the emotions of a good book - happiness, hopeful, love, and appreciation - and I would recommend it to all. It's a good reminder of the importance of giving to others, as well as eating quality pasta sauce. 

Give Kids the World

Today, we (yes we...because Ryan and I each received our own copies) received the Fall newsletter for Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. My name was listed on the middle insert TWICE! - for the 2010 Summer volunteers and the 2010 Team Hole in the Wall members. It was such a positive reminder of the power we have to make a difference in the lives of others and perfectly timed, since I wanted to share this story anyway. Hank, the founder/mastermind behind Hope Express, shared this story with us this past week.

Thanksgiving

Henry stood still naked. He was standing beside a big wide open hole in the ground. It wasn’t any kind of hole. It had been dug by a bulldozer for a single purpose. The war had progressed on and Germany was losing. The American forces had turned the tide and were steadily making their way to the German capitol. This had no bearing on Henry though. He knew nothing of the progression of the war. He only knew of death and suffering in the concentration camp that was now his home.

He stared down into the pit of dead and dying bodies and knew that his time on earth was over. His hands were behind his head awaiting the bullet that was soon to come. The Germans needed more money for their soldiers on the front line and they determined that bullets were cheaper than the gas chambers. Simple really. Just dig a big hole. Shoot them in the head and cover the hole. Silly they didn’t think of it earlier.

The shots came. Henry instinctively fell into the pit with the rest of the bodies. It didn’t take Henry long to realize that he wasn’t dead. He couldn’t move or he would be shot for sure. He played dead even as the bodies piled on top of him. He decided to wait until dark and try to escape, that is, if they didn’t decide to plow him over with dirt.

Luck was with Henry that day. Darkness finally came. Henry dug himself out from the bodies that lay on top of him. He crawled out of the pit of death and ran into the darkness of night. He didn’t stop running until a couple of days later where he found some clothes on a clothesline outside a house. He had no idea where he was. When the owners of the home came out of the house and confronted him he almost ran away. It is a good thing he didn’t because I would know nothing of Henry and the man he would become.

Henry had managed to run from Germany to Austria. The family in that home protected him until the end of the war. What had seemed like sure death had somehow been redirected.

Years later Henry was now a manager of a hotel in the middle of somewhere on the Florida east coast. The space program was in full swing, and the hotel where Henry worked housed astronauts, the media and many famous people of the time. Henry always made sure he went out of the way to make his guests felt at home. A newspaper was always ready for them in the morning. He would find out the birthdays of his guests and a cake would be made if they were celebrating it while in the hotel. His only concern was his guests and their happiness. He also became friends with a lot of these guests.

After his time on the space coast he had saved his money and he decided to start his own hotel in Orlando. He was doing quite well for himself and one day he was reading the local paper when he read a story that hit him to the core. A young girl who was on the waiting list for the “Make A Wish” program had died before she could get to Disney World. How could this be, he thought? He knew how precious life can be, and he was determined to never let this happen again.

He picked up the phone and started calling all of the friends he had made earlier in his life. He put a network of hotels together so that no child would be without a room. They were given a room over others. He worked with Disney to make special passes available and special preference given to those kids on a wish vacation.

Failures still occurred, and Henry was determined to fix this once and for all. He picked up the phone again and called everyone he knew to come up with the money for a special place where wish kids go insuring that no one would be left behind. That place exists today. It is called Give Kids the World. This is where we spent our wish trip to Disney. If Disney is magical, then GKTW is beyond that. We asked Gabe before the trip what he wanted most. He said he wanted to meet Fiona. We went to the front desk the day of arrival and asked if this was possible. We had heard that GKTW could make dreams come true. They did. You all remind us runners weekend and you can see the video.

That week in Florida at GKTW was amazing for us. It washed away so many of the bad things that had happened to us over Gabe’s treatment. One man. One dream. Thousands of miracles. People come from around the world to keep and maintain the property. They are all volunteers. The full time staff is very small in comparison. Bottom line, no child now has to wait. All of this came from a boy who stood naked over a pit of dead bodies.

Now I have a question for all of you. What excuse do you have for not doing your run? What excuse do you have for not asking or telling your friends to donate to those who cannot help themselves? What excuse do you have? What do you think Henry would do? Do you think he would stop or give up or find any excuse from achieving what he knew in his heart was worth fighting for? Look into the mirror. I think I know the answer.

hip hip hip hooray!

Why so many hips, you may ask?

Hip #1 - Today I received the "You Have a Donation" email FIVE TIMES!!! What an incredible feeling! Wow! And thank you to those people...and to all the people who have donated to this amazing cause so far!

Hip #2 - This weekend is my final long run before I start to taper in preparation for the quickly upcoming BIG DAY. I checked the weather mid-week/mid-heat wave and somehow, the temperature is decreasing for Saturday (it was only Saturday...I decided to move my run to Sunday and what do you know - now it's going to be mid-70's both of those days). You may call it random. They may call it Earl. I am going to just go with fabulous.

Hip #3 - My long run will put me just over the 2o0 MILE MARK!!! It's crazy. It's unreal. It's a glitch in the system. I don't get it, but wow!

Both my fundraising and running goals are now closer than ever. It's scary, but super exciting! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for continued good luck!

Happy Labor Day!

wow

(this post was written on thursday, but needed to be finished...and finally, it has been!).

It's hard to believe it, but when I woke up this morning, I was still at camp. I already feel too far and distant from my amazing week at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. I have more or less wanted to volunteer there since my freshman year of college - that's FIVE years. It's really hard to put the entire week into words, especially since so much of my experience hit me on such a personal and emotional level. It was just amazing!

I spent the week with nine 7/8 year old girls. Their conditions included cancer, sickle cell, and HIV. The way these girls laughed and goofed off and just carried on was so....normal. Especially at camp, I would imagine, they were able to do just that. The medical support at the camp is INCREDIBLE. Rather than having their conditions hold them back and prevent them from doing things, it's just a small part of their day at camp.

My thoughts right now are all over the place, so I know this post is doing little justice, but I wanted to share a quick story...

O, we'll call her, was recently diagnosed with diabetes and has been slowly learning to manage her condition. Before each meal, O would go to the infirmary to check her sugars, and in the morning, she would receive insulin shots. In the middle of the session, I was with O on her morning visit when Beth, the nurse working with O, asked her if she had ever thought about learning to prick her finger herself. O, who is 8, said she thought maybe when she was 10 she could learn it. I found out the next morning for another counselor who saw it (because she's that modest!) that she pricked herself....THAT NIGHT! Something she thought she couldn't do at all was possible. It might not seem that big, but for some reason, it really hit me as a "this is IT" moment. Things just seem possible at camp (you know..like cutting down a Christmas tree, obviously a first for me in general!, in July?), because somehow, they are.

On a quick note, running is going pretty well! I went out for my long run this morning, but cut it short because of the rain. I really tried....but it was ridiculous. I drove to the start of Forbidden Drive, and my plan was to run home and get my car later, but I was soaking wet and my freaking headphone (just one) wouldn't stay in my ear. It was uncomfortable and actually more frustrating than it should have been. I decided after 3 miles to turn around, not baring the thought of struggling in an unnecessary way for 6 more miles....it stopped raining, but I knew the last 1.5 miles would be completely uncovered and would therefore be even worse (although I'm not sure what worse would have even felt/looked like). I probably should've thrown an extra 1.5 out/back in once the rain slowed down on my way back, but mental is mental. Adding additional miles didn't seem plausible at the time. Pro? I still ran 6 miles!

oh my August!

I have had the great fortune of enjoying a work-free summer...something I haven't done, summer or not, since high school. The second month of freedom somehow became jam packed, and in terms of my training, I've had to think a lot about how I will incorporate running into my travels, since my last long run is scheduled for labor day weekend- AH!! This month is crucial!

Las Vegas!!!
PRO- it's VEGAS baby! I've heard rumors that they pump oxygen into the rooms there to pump you up. Also, the idea of running along the strip seems very entertaining to me, considering how much there is to see, but of course...

CON- The two H's will stand to be my biggest obstacles while in Vegas. They are, of course, HEAT and HANGOVER. Luckily, our hotel has a gym (and while I have to pay some bones to use it, I'm surprisingly okay with that...hopefully it will be a small drop in the bucket of my big WINNINGS), which will allow me to run if and when I am able to roll out of bed, regardless of the time of day (and therefore, the ridiculous three-digit number they call the temperature).


HOLE IN THE WALL GANG CAMP!!
PRO- It's obvious! I'll be at camp! I will be completely surrounded by my reason for running....I can't waittt!!

CON- Schedule is tight, days are long, and sleep is short (or at least it feels that way..). Wake up is early, so sneaking runs in may be tight, but I spoke with the volunteer coordinator and she was very optimistic about it, so I am toooo!


Montreal!! (notice how all places are followed by several !!!.....it's because I'm excited, if you can't tell)
PRO-THE WEATHER! The average temperature in Montreal for the end of August is in the high 60's.....in fact, early AM running may require.....pants! how wacky! I can't wait!

CON-Being in a city I am completely unfamiliar with may make running around a bit of an initial challenge, but I'm excited to see the city this way...and will do my research to help make it as easy as possible!



It's good to have things to look forward to, because it's going to be nearly 80 degrees tomorrow morning before 8AM, and working back up to a long run after taking that week off for my foot is hard enough...I don't need any other obstacles, whether I can see them or not, in my way!

Camp sooo soon!!!

August is going to be a super busy month (not complaining! all GREAT things!), and I'm super stoked for all of them for very different reasons....The second week in August, I have the WONDERFUL privilege of volunteering for a week at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, the original Hole in the Wall camp. Three years ago, I volunteered at The Painted Turtle, a HITW camp in California, when I flew out there to visit Amanda while she was living in LA. To avoid the cost of a flight, I decided to stick locally and applied to volunteer at the camp in Connecticut.

When I think about the training milestones I have ahead of me, I feel a range of emotions, and a lot of them are not the best ones - nervous, scared, worried, afraid. What if I can't do it? I feel so fortunate to have my week at camp come exactly one month before the half-marathon, the day when I will need to remember so clearly why I decided to take on this challenge in the first place, why I wanted to support the Hole in the Wall camps, and why I felt it so important to run with their mission in my heart. When I think about going to camp, I feel like a kid...I'm a little nervous, but I'm so excited. I'm pumped. I'm stoked. I just know how incredible I felt at The Painted Turtle...I can only imagine how magical it feels for children, which is exactly why I felt so strongly about running to raise money to help give a child that experience.

I can'tttt waittttttttt!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered..to the mailbox.

Despite my recent injury setback, I spent today walking quickly to the post office (en route to the car to take me to the supermarket, but those are minor details) to mail my paperwork into Team Hole in the Wall! While training for my half-marathon, I will be fundraising for the Hole in the Wall Camps. The Hole in the Wall Camps make up the largest family of camps for child with life-threatening diseases. In 2007, I spent a week volunteering at The Painted Turtle in California. My week at the Painted Turtle was eye opening - honestly much too big for this quick post, but I will share soon! This summer, I have the incredible chance to spend a week at the original Hole in the Wall camp, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut. I'm super pumped, especially since the BIG EVENT will be lurking around the corner by then! I have set the goal of raising $2,500 for the Hole in the Wall Camps, which will cover the cost of one child to be sent to camp for a week. Of course, all donations, no matter the size, are appreciated. Learn more about my fundraising, and stay tuned - competitive activity in the name of the cause is on its way....who doesn't love healthy competition in the name of philanthropy?

I have casually considered running an event such as this some time now, but it is honestly this cause that makes me able to believe I can pull it off. In 2007, Tina and I danced in Penn State's Dance MaraTHON, a 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping, NO KIDDING! dance marathon. How? Because there are people who need that. There are some people that consider that their Disney! When I was at Painted Turtle, I remember thinking how it really felt like anything was possible. It felt like there were no rules, no limits, that anything was possible. And it had it....the campers were so often given limits and told "no" - they deserve a place made completely and incredibly that revolves around them.

I should be back to my running sched this weekend, and I am actually looking forward to it!


(it was really sunny....)

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog that will follow me over the next months as I prepare to run the ING Rock & Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon.

That's right. Digest it. Take it in. I am prying myself away from the couch and slipping into my sneaks for repetitive extended periods of time. The thought is a lot for me to swallow too.

My run will be to raise money for the Hole in the Wall camps. My goals? 13.1 miles and $2,500. Since mentally committing a few days ago, the idea of this has slowly began to move from completely terrifying to slightly exciting (just slightly....give it some time). I'm nervous, but I've already begun rehearsing my finish line face (it's a near cousin of the "I just won big on the slots!" face, one I have practiced many times) and I am ecstatic about helping to give another child the chance to experience the Hole in the Wall camp experience!

Here goes nothing....