Above: Four more members of the Southborough community are donning marathon bibs to raise cash for causes. (Images from their fundraising and charity sites)
Southborough has always had an impressive showing at the Boston Marathon, and this year is no exception.
On Monday, April 20, nineteen Southborough residents will don a bib a run to run. Many will be raising funds for important causes in the process.
Every runner has a story, and I promised to feature as many as I could.
There were a lot of fundraising pages out there this year. So, I’m going to have to round up the ones I didn’t get to yet.
Today’s feature focuses on Beth Delahunty, Varvani Dwarki, John Freeman, and Chris Young. Each are supporting a cause.
Beth Delahunty is raising funds for Framingham Adult ESL Plus!:
ESL Plus is an amazing organization that serves the diverse community of Framingham, MA. I feel so fortunate to be a Framingham teacher! Over the past 18 years, I have taught hundreds of students, many of whom were/are new immigrants to this country. My students and their families strive to learn English quickly, and Framingham Adult ESL Plus has helped many of them to accomplish this goal. . .
Students registered during the past semester came from 40 countries and spoke 26 different languages. Students range in age from 18 to 85 and represent a range of backgrounds. . .
A community is only as successful as the communication between its residents, and therefore it is critical that Framingham continues to develop effective communication across cultures. (read more)
Varvani Dwarki is raising funds for the National Organization for Rare Disorders. His fundraising page informs that 1 out of 10 people live with a rare disease. Dwarki’s connection is through a patient suffering from one:
I am honored and privileged to have been given the opportunity to represent my Patient Partner with a Rare Disease (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy-CADASIL) and most importantly raise awareness/support of her condition. As you know, sympathy alone doesn’t lead to cure rather funding research to find the cause is the only way. As part of the Running for Rare Diseases team, we are raising money to support NORD, the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Specifically, our funds are directed to the Genzyme/NORD NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) to help those who are undiagnosed pay for testing. With your help I strongly believe we can make a difference in people’s lives. (read more)
John Freeman is raising funds for the Special Olympics:
This experience provides me with the opportunity to support the Special Olympics mission of providing year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for all children and adults with intellectual disabilities. In addition, supporting the concepts of acceptance, inclusion, and opportunity and inspiring my children to do the same. (read more)
Chris Young is raising funds for the Waltham Boys & Girls Club. Young isn’t a resident. But he is a member of our community through his employment at St. Mark’s School. The school shared a recent story written about the runner. It covers his personal involvement in the 2013 marathon.
Young’s wife was waiting close to the finish line for him when the bombs went off. Fortunately, she wasn’t physically harmed. You can read his story here. You can find his fundraising page here.
