We have been bestowed upon us the distinct honor of being named the 2011 Ambassador Family for the Kalamazoo Division of the March of Dimes. This division includes all of Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Cass, Van Buren, Calhoun, Berrien, and Branch counties in Michigan. What this means for Gunner is that he will be "a celebrity" and what this means for Mommy is that I get to be a spokesperson for the March of Dimes, attempting to raise awareness of the Mission of the March of Dimes, which is, is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
Because of this honor, I have chosen a very lofty goal for our team, Gunner's Go-Getters, which is $5100. A number that symbolizes the five weeks and one day that I spent in the hospital prior to Gunner's early birth. I would like my personal efforts to contribute at least $1000 to that goal and our joint team efforts to make up the balance. This is the first of my many fundraising efforts.
I have been creatively figuring a way to reach our team goal. I have come up with many. But the one that is probably the most creative (read: crazy) I actually stole from my virtual training partner, Rhonda. She is also the Mommy of a 33-weeker, who ironically could write Gunner's story, as it was her own daughter, Mallory's. She also endured pPROM, hospital bedrest, much like I did. So, we are the crazy preemie moms on a mission to train for a half marathon and raise money and awareness of the mission of the March of Dimes as we do it.
Last year, many people asked me "how many miles will you be walking?" as they wanted to base their sponsorship on how many miles I would be walking. Well, 3 miles isn't that much. But 200 is. Yes, 200 is the number of miles I will be planning to run between now and April 10, 2011..the date of the 1/2 marathon the crazy preemie mommas will run. (This has been mentioned to Brian, I am not sure if he thinks I am serious yet or not...)
So, let me know! Do you want to sponsor this crazy momma mission? If you sponsor a dime a mile, that's $20, 2 dimes, $40...you get the picture. All the money will be collected in time for the first walk we will do, which is April 30, 2011. You can even donate online at www.marchforbabies.com/teamgunner
To keep you up on all of my progress, I will post all my runs, and take pictures or screen shots of my actual mileage (when I have the luxury of runing inside), I will not cheat, and post them on the blog here. I think this is a fun way to keep me motivated and my rear in gear!
