Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Announcing the 11,12,13 Challenge: National Psoriasis Foundation!


This might be the best blog post yet, so get ready!  National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is officially our charity!  The irony of posting this is that..nobody is reading it.  Even though I've been posting about my races, this blog hasn't been release publicly yet (except for a few people very involved in the Challenge, and as a way to tell the charity what we're doing here and get them on board!).  So yes, I've been writing to myself.  It was just that we didn't have the charity set up, and I didn't want people seeing the blog until everything was ready to go.



But now we're ready!  NPF is a wonderful charity and couldn't be more supportive our goals.  They have agreed to spread the word through their various social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, write about us in their newsletter, and help us find the best ways to be involved in the community - among many other opportunities.  I have been working closely with Linda and Jeremy, and let me tell you, they are two great people!  I'm sure you'll be reading more about them in the future, but for now let me just welcome them to the 11, 12, 13 Challenge team and say how excited I am to work with them. 

Some of the opportunities I will be involved in include joining them for the DC Walk to Cure Psoriasis in September 2011.  This involves a 1K (.62 miles) and 5K (3.1 miles) walk, so this is a great way to get involved even if you aren't a runner.


I will also be joining them in their "Climb the Hill for a Cure" day where I will spend two days working with other volunteers for NPF and learning the best ways to help support psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.  On the third day, we will go to meet with members of Congress to tell our stories and advocate for psoriasis. 
Pretty awesome, right?  I had no idea when I started this challenge the places it would take me, and now I only wish there was more time in the day so that I could do all of this (while still keeping my job, of course). 

And with my enthusiasm, there's also nerves.  Not because I'm running 12 half marathons - right now, that seems like the easy part.  For me, I have such a huge opportunity to make a difference, but that also puts a lot of pressure on me.  You all know by now that my dad will match the first $13,100 worth of donations - but just how does one go about getting those $13,100 of donations, while running 12 half marathons, and working, and trying to have a life? 

The answer - I need your support!  So I'd appreciate it if everyone could help spread the word so that we can take a big punch at psoriatic arthritis.  It can be as simple as sharing the blog link on your Facebook page or emailing it to friends.  Or maybe you own a business, or have a friend or parent that does and would want to be one of our sponsors (which of course means good exposure for them too!)  Or for the more ambitious people, running a race and joining the team.  We are always looking for others to join our adventure and take on whatever may be their challenge.  Maybe it's walking your first 5k or maybe it's running a marathon, so find your own challenge and join me!

3 comments:

  1. Where do we donate to this wonderful and important cause?

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  2. Mike, you can find the link at http://walk.psoriasis.org/site/TR?team_id=16705&fr_id=1750&pg=team Quite a few people commented that they couldn't find the link, so I've tried to make it clear on the blog now. Thanks for your interest and support!

    Kathryn

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  3. I just wanted to say I think what you are doing is wonderful! You're so stinking cute.

    Monica

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