Thank you all for a great 1st year!!

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of our friends, volunteers, donors and sponsors that made our 1st year a fantastic success! In 2010 we helped over 100 children start enjoying a healthier and more active life through a gift of running shoes. Our goal when we started was to get shoes to 50 children our first year, so thanks to all of you we doubled our goal! It has been wonderful having Nikki beside me on this undertaking. Her energy and organization in helping get us set up was the key to a great year.
In 2011 we will embark on the second phase of our mission, by rolling out after school running programs to elementary schools in Fort Collins. Our 1st session starts January 4 th so stay tuned as our kids start running for their lives!

CSU Homecoming 2010

Looks like tomorrow is going to be another great day to run in the Fort! Most of the Run For Your Life team will be out flashing the gold tees for CSU green and gold day! if you get a chance try to stop by and visit as we continue to get kids in need up and active through our running shoe program.

Girls on the Run

So, you might ask yourself, how much pull can a 1st year non profit have in the community? Well not to blow our own horn, but I will! Putnam Elementary in fort Collins had 9 girls that wanted to run in the Girls on the Run event Veterans Day weekend but couldn't find a way to cover costs to travel out of town. RFYLC has stepped in and gotten the girls and their coach free registrations to the CSU Veterans Day 5K on November13. Not quite Denver, but a great race experience for the girls!! We will also be outfitting any of the girls in need with running shoes for training and the race itself. It truly is these small gestures that make up the heart of want we want to accomplish at RFYLC. Stay well

Nighttime is the right time

Turns out, if you want to get running shoes to kids in need, sometimes you have to go off schedule. Friday evening, instead of tucking my awesome boys into bed and reading some stories, it was time to deliver more shoes. A long ride out to the farthest reaches of Loveland left us disappointed as a little boy that had been waiting for his running shoes, had moved with no forwarding info. Numerous attempts via e-mail and phone to reach his mom were unanswered. So we have our first little one in danger of dropping out of our system. It's disheartening. I am sure there are more important priorities rather than notifying us of their move, which makes you wish you could do more. Let's hope tomorrow is a brighter day for all kids.

Running against the wind

You know that feeling. You're out on a run and no matter which direction you seem to be going, you always seem to be running against wind. You push through, dig deep, maybe bear down a little hard to get to the finish. Well that's a lot like running a non profit organization. I keep hoping for a little more tail wind, to get me through the decline letters from potential grant funding. They say when one door closes another opens, so we'll all keep looking for that open door, right? If you see it let me know! After some discussions with numerous folks (even a race expert!!), RFYLC is looking into hosting a BIG event next summer!! Wait for it... a HALF MARATHON!!! If you thought I was nuts before, wait while I explain.

Rather than always asking to be a beneficiary to a race, we can do our own benefit race for RFYLC. A nice little 13.1, hopefully from Wellington to Fort Collins. A nice June Saturday, some cold beer at the end, a snazzy technical shirt, and a medal to sweeten the deal. Who's with me now?

So follow the planning, join in the planning, run the race, raise money for RFYLC by running. Be a part of the next big thing in Northern Colorado running events!! WE NEED YOU! Not that person or this person, YOU!

Fundraiser Update

The tally from our CB & Potts fundraiser night will bring in around $130 of much needed revenue. CB & Potts were very gracious hosts and the food is always delicious, just ask Nikki!
We continue to get great feedback on the article that featured us in the CSU Rocky Mountain Collegian on 8/31.

Don't forget that the Colorado Run is this Monday September 6th at the CSU oval. RFYLC will be there talking about childhood obesity and our ongoing plan to get kids in Northern Colorado up and active.

I was just minding my own business...

when I received a phone call from Spencer, one of our dedicated directors. Seems that the Colorado State University newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, heard about our fundraising night at CB & Potts and wanted to do a feature article on Run For Your Life Colorado! I know, kinda scary isn't it? So Spencer, Nikki, and I were interviewed for an article that will appear online and in print on 8/31. If you get a chance, check it out! Nikki says I was a bit verbose, but I love to talk about the great work that the RFYLC team is doing!

By the way, the Young family will be sporting their RFYLC gear and running the Colorado Run 5K on September 6th at the CSU Oval - they are family on the go. Come on out to cheer them on and stop by the RFYLC booth and say hello! We are still looking for volunteers too!

I received a gift today

I woke up this morning to hand deliver some of the shoes that had been requested but, for some reason, never picked up. It was amazing to see firsthand the neighborhoods where the kids we are helping live in. The two mobile home parks I visited today were a small glimpse of the poverty that surrounds all of us, but that we turn away from rather than see it for what it is. At both areas, the only place to play was the roadways, and these were filled either with garbage or cars. Each home I visited either had a few broken windows or windows that missing completely. Probably not so bad in the summer when it's 90 degees and there is no A/C for your trailer home. But what about the winter? One unit was filled with mattresses and little else. Certainly no real space to sit down and do your homework, or have any privacy. We should all count our blessings. The best part of delivering the shoes personally was getting to meet some of the familiy members of the kids. The appreciation and gratitude from families is wonderful. It's amazing how smiles, hugs, and tears can translate across a language barrier. My hope is that we make a small difference in the lives of these kids and their parents, letting them know there are people who care.

Update

Wow! It's been awhile since we updated everyone so here goes. A big round of applause to all the volunteers that helped make our 1st two Northern Colorado running events such a huge success. Horsetooth Half Marathon was tremendous for exposure to the running community, and the amount of traffic at the Colorado Marathon expo truly let all of us at RFYLC that we are on the right track. The volunteers that were at the aid station were " some of the best" according to runners in the race and the race director himself! A tremendous effort was given by Nikki, Janna and Clarence to raise funds and awareness through their back to back 1/2 marathons in less than 3 weeks. You guys are fantastic.
Our first committee meeting brought a slew of fresh ideas and some great volunteers to RFYLC. They are going to help us make 2010 a great first year.
Spencer, Betsy and myself, did a little Zumba at the local community center and then registered 39 kids for the program. Once the kids have their shoes and start running we will need to change our goal from fifty pair distributed in our first year to .....the sky is the limit. Our grant proposal is under review as I write and hopefully will give us some much needed operating funds.
We received another large request for shoes from the SAVA (Sexual Abuse Victims Advocacy) Center for their "Supergirls" program. This is a program for girls ages 6-11 to get active and feel empowered regarding their bodies. A great cause t be involved with. One special note for all my followers, RFYLC and I owe the world to Nikki, without her tireless effort we wouldn't be where we are today. She is RFYLC. Me I'm just a guy with an idea and super duper wife!

Update

Sorry, it's been so long since I last posted. Let's catch up. The brochures and shoe request forms have been printed and are starting to be distributed. Poudre school district has received the brochure and is putting it out to all their students. We have 2 drop off locations for donated shoes, Dandelion Toys in Old Town and at Runners Roost on Harmony. To date we have received several lightly worn shoes (actually quite nice shoes) and Healthy kids Club and Runners Roost continue to work with us to get new shoes for our project. We are going to be beneficiaries of both the Horsetooth Half Marathon and Colorado Marathon. We are goign to need volunteers for both events. If you know people that are looking for a fun group to hang out with give them our info!
It takes a long time to get things rolling but I know our goal is a good one. Small steps, every day we take another small step.

A Big Thank You

My wonderful wife came home at 3 am this morning after another long website session with my Mother in Law Inge. The results are wonderful!! I owe you both a tremendous lovely dinner when the process is complete. You have both gone over and above working with someone as impossible as myself! You have captured the essence of RFYL and I know that the site will continue to build enthusiasm for what we are trying to to do for the children of Northern Colorado. Thanks for all your support! I love you both!

New year, new beginnings...

Happy 2010!

I think I am just about ready to send in my application paperwork for tax exempt status with the IRS. It is a 30 page application with financials and a narrative. Hopefully we will get an answer before too long, and hopefully a good one! I have learned very quickly though that Run For Your Life can't be a one man show. I need the help of my friends , family, and total strangers to make this organization work. Hopefully what I experienced today will make evryone want to help these kids. Not just the kids in Colorado, but the thousands of kids across the country that have so little to call their own.

I had the opportunity today to meet a young man the other day, named Austin, who was having surgery. At 10, he was the man of the house. As I was putting his clothes under his cart, I noticed his shoes. That's what I do now, I notice kids' shoes. They were worn out and holey. His Mom seemed embarassed. I gave her my Run For Your Life card. I told her it might not be today, tomorrow, or next month but we would get him some new sneakers. Please help me get Austin and the thousands of kids out there like him shoes so they can be active. Let them know what it's like to open a shoe box and get that new shoe smell. Help them feel they can jump higher and run faster because they have new sneakers. Let them know someone cares.