A while back, I wrote about my desire to make a difference for the people of Uganda by helping them get clean and safe water. Their lack of access to clean, safe water puts adults and children at risk of disease that can often lead to death.I’m running in the Publix Georgia Half Marathon on March 20 as a part of Team Samaritan’s Purse to raise money for this project and I need your help. Specifically I'm asking you to consider sponsoring me in the race! Team Samaritan’s Purse is a group of people who compete in athletic events to help needy people across the world. Team SP is helping by raising money for clean water projects in Uganda, and has set a goal of raising $100,000 at official events in Atlanta and Cincinnati this year.
Samaritan’s Purse is a well respected nonprofit already at work in Uganda building filtration systems and digging wells to provide clean, safe water. You can read about their work in Uganda here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/running_water_to_uganda/#
Many of you responded by graciously donating to Samaritan’s Purse through my FirstGiving fundraising page (http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/michael-ogles/michaelogles).
Thanks to your generosity, we have raised over $800 so far! Thank you! Because so many donated after my first request, your donations enabled me to be one of the two top fundraisers by the deadline of January 28 and as a result, I received one of the two race registrations that were donated to Samaritan’s Purse! I have to admit, I was a bit overwhelmed by the response. Today, I donated my race entry fee ($80) to Samaritan’s Purse.
THANK YOU for donating! But we’re not there yet – I’m still looking for donors to help reach our goal of at least $1000 by the race.
If you haven’t donated yet, there’s still time. Just click on the link above and you can donate safely online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to Samaritans Purse by FirstGiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation.
My Training
We’re just about four weeks from race day and training continues to go better than I expected. It’s not without its struggles but at 54, I expect some problems. Still, they’ve been far fewer than expected! My longest run to date is 7.5 miles and I hope to be up to 9 miles by the end of this week! You can keep up with my training at www.ogles.com or http://www.dailymile.com/people/Michael_O/. I’m also posting my progress on facebook (send me a friend request!).
Thanks for your support - and please help spread the word about this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!
Please help us bring clean, safe water to the families of Uganda - we can do it one donation at a time. Again, my fundraising page is: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/michael-ogles/michaelogles.
Please email me if you have any questions.
Michael
