A MESSAGE FROM Maddie's Fundraising Page - Girl Scouts of NYC - NYC Marathon 2021
Maddie here - and welcome to my marathon home base! I could not be more excited to announce that I've officially begun my training and fundraising for the 2021 New York Marathon on Sunday, November 7th on behalf of Girl Scouts of New York City.
I passionately believe this quote stands true: "If you are ever losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon." My first marathon, the 2019 Chicago Marathon, was one of the toughest, most incredible things I have ever tackled. The 29 neighborhoods, the event, the fellow runners, the tens of thousands of volunteers, the 1.7 million spectators, the crowd-offered mid marathon and celebratory beers, the roller coaster of events I faced in balancing rigorous training and life, the charitable causes, the friends and family I had as the best in-person and virtual cheerleaders, the hilarious signs, the emotions, the stories. It was the greatest thing - it was everything - it was awesome.
So..... I caught the marathon bug. And want to run it back (literally). I know what you might be thinking: another one? Who enjoys running 26.2 miles for fun? The big motivator for me as to why I run, and why I do what I do, is to help the Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts is an amazing organization that I've become increasingly passionate about over the years. Sure, they make some mean cookies (FYI cookie season starts Jan 1), but the organization does so much more than that. I served as a Girl Scout way back in the day, and upon graduating college, I plugged back into Girl Scouts as an Assistant Troop Leader for an amazing group of now-cadets at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Troop 20474 for these past three years. It has been so rewarding to see these girls grow and transform into young women, and leaders in their schools and communities. I had the pleasure of running the 2019 Chicago Marathon for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, where I was able to raise $3,500 thanks to so many of you cheerleaders and supporters alike.
Girl Scouts is an organization of 2.5 million strong - 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults who believe in the power of every girl to change the world. Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success, so we can make these women the go-getters, innovators, risk-takers, and leaders of tomorrow. Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place. All our girl scout troop badges earned range from topics like STEM and financial literacy, to environmental protection and community service. Cookie funds and program funds help girls go on field trips, volunteer trips, visit workplaces, participate in the Girl Scout Cookie program, and even attend camp annually.
This year, I'm so excited about running on behalf of Girl Scouts of New York City, and shoot for a goal of $4,000. One of my favorite parts of the New York City chapter of Girl Scouts is how they support Troop 6000, a program specifically designed to serve thousands of girls living in the New York City Shelter System. The long-term goal is to expand this program across NYC so that each week, Girl Scouts will meet in shelters across the city, with trained troop leaders - women also living in the shelter system paired with community-based volunteers. Members of the troop attend weekly meetings across more than 20 shelters in all five boroughs and do what Girl Scouts do: build their network, be carefree, and gain confidence in new situations. At the end of the day, we all have a duty to empower the next generation of women leaders so that they're the CEOs, the scientists, the politicians, the teachers, the business people, the engineers, the techies, and the leaders of a generation far superior than even our own.
I thank you for your continued support as I undertake this next journey, it'll be a fun one (400 miles of training starts July 18), and I could not be more excited to run those miles on behalf of this amazing organization.
"Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them."
Your emotional support is a gfit to me, but I also appreciate your support my fundraising efforts for the Marathon - no donation is too small. Click "Give Now" to make that happen.
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